Former Swansea mananger Francesco Guidolin inspired Palermo stars to 3-0 win over West Ham by 'aiming a RIFLE' at them before the game, says Amauri

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Former Swansea manager Francesco Guidolin brought a rifle into Palermo's dressing room and 'aimed it' at players in order to inspire them before a match, claims former Italy international Amauri.

Guidolin, who enjoyed a record four separate spells as Palermo manager, attempted to give his players a rush of adrenaline before their UEFA Cup first round tie against West Ham in 2006.

Palermo had secured a 1-0 victory at Upton Park in the first leg, but the eccentric Spaniard wanted to make sure his players were guarded against complacency.

Francesco Guidolin, pictured as manager of Swansea, had four spells in charge of Palermo

Palermo went on to beat West Ham 3-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate to progress

'I'll never forget what happened one afternoon in training,' Amauri said in quotes attributed to Il Giornale di Sicilia.

'We prepared for the second leg of our UEFA Cup tie with West Ham and Guidolin came into the dressing room with a big bag.

'He then pulled out a rifle and aimed it at all my team-mates and I, exclaiming," we've hurt them, now let's go on the pitch and finish them off…"

'I remember that with [Fabio] Simplicio, we managed to hold back the laughter, but it's a nice memory, which I still remember with pleasure.'

Amauri says he and his former team-mates looks back on the bizarre incident fondly

Going on to win the game 3-0, and 4-0 on aggregate, the stunt evidently worked the way Guidolin had hoped, but the steam ran out later in the season as they were eliminated from the competition at the group stage.

Palermo sacked Guidolin the following April after a disappointing run of form but bizarrely revoked the decision in May before dismissing him again at the end of the campaign.

Following a disastrous start to the season under new manager Stefano Colantuono, Guidolin was appointed once again for a fourth separate spell as manager, lasting until March before leaving for the final time.