Novellino was sacked after failing to turn things around at Torino after taking over from Gianni De Biasi in December.
“Honestly I really didn’t expect to be dismissed,” Novellino told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“The players were with me. Over the last few months in charge I managed to galvanise the squad.
“I just regret when Rolando Bianchi hit the bar in the game against Atalanta in Bergamo.
“If Rolando had scored then the game would have gone very differently and today we would be talking about something else.”
