Turati: “Nothing can be taken for granted, we’ll have to fight”

On the eve of the match against Gubbio, head coach Marco Turati said:

“This is an important week in the history of the team, and arriving here after the performance in Reggio Emilia gives us enormous pleasure, because we gave joy to our fans and gained further awareness of our qualities. The result is always the product of many factors, but the performance is not, and I’m very proud of what the lads have done and are doing: we must keep going like this.

Ours is a young team, so the many compliments always have to be managed, but these lads have got us used to being focused and hungry for the full 90 minutes, and they always bring a team spirit that you can see even from the stands.

Tomorrow we face a very difficult match, because Gubbio, despite their position in the table, have players who have played in Serie A and Serie B. They also have an experienced coach who knows the division very well and will surely have injected new energy into the Umbrian side. So we know full well that we must always give our maximum, take to the pitch focused and take nothing for granted: we’ll have to fight, perhaps even more than usual.

I want everyone to feel like a protagonist within our system. I consider it a decisive weapon, and I always tell the lads this. We have an obligation to do well, and to do so we must all be involved. In this regard, the lads have all improved a lot in recent weeks. They’re making things difficult for me, and I’m happy about that, so I hope they continue like this, because the season is very long and there will certainly be room for everyone.

Capolupo is suspended, so we’ve tried various solutions and also some tactical variations.

Cannavò? He came back from the national team very well. I saw him smiling and in good shape, and we’ll assess how many minutes to give him.

Cazzadori? We’re very pleased with him. When I see a young player working hard, giving everything for the shirt, not giving up a single inch, it fills me with pride. I also know that achieving certain results in football always relies on the support of teammates, so I prefer to talk about the team as a unit.

How do we keep our focus high? It’s hard. First of all, I have to do a good job of making it clear that Gubbio are no less worthy than us because they currently have fewer points. They have a high average age, a coach I respect enormously and players from a higher division, so I’m sure we’ll spend a great deal of energy. I’ve told the lads to expect any kind of attitude from our opponent: I expect there will be many different phases within tomorrow’s game.

Taking care of the details? It’s something we do daily, from the start, on both individual and collective details. We must keep adding knowledge, ironing out flaws and trying to improve every day, both individually and as a group.

The midfielders played a very good game in Reggio, but at half-time I pointed out to them that perhaps we had lacked a bit of courage in the first half. In the second half we came out showing it, raised the tempo and put on the pitch the qualities they have in their locker.

Jimenez? When the Sporting Director mentioned his name to me, I said yes straight away. I know his characteristics well and I didn’t understand how a Serie C team could let him go. He’s a player of absolute quality, he’s absorbing the patterns more and more, and he has everything he needs to win games, because he has tremendous quality.

Cancellieri? He came with us to Reggio too because he was really eager to rejoin the group, and tomorrow he could also lend us a hand.

Who have I seen improve the most? I want to name lads like Benvenuto and Giorgeschi, who have found very little playing time so far, but who always train at full intensity and are improving a great deal, showing great seriousness, desire and commitment.”