Turati: "Pescara have top-class players; for us, this is a test to gauge how far we’ve come"

Ahead of the match against Pescara, manager Marco Turati spoke to the press, saying: “I’d like to thank the Director for his kind words about me. They’re wonderful compliments that I’ll cherish, but this doesn’t mean I’ll rest on my laurels, because every day I try to come up with ideas and ways to improve our football.

We’ve come through a run of closely-packed matches that went well, but now we’re facing challenges that will certainly be different – against experienced sides with a significantly higher average age than ours – but we want to show our fans that we’re absolutely raring to go and continue to enjoy ourselves as we have recently.

I love the enthusiasm, and riding this wave of joy that surrounds us is something magnificent – a huge source of strength for all of us; of course, we must keep our feet on the ground, because we’re a team with excellent potential, but one that needs to work to realise it and must always play with hunger and aggression. We absolutely cannot sit back, feel complacent or just manage individual phases of the match: our aim is to give it our all together and replicate what we’ve practised during the week. When we deviate from our game plan, we aren’t as dominant as we can be at other times, and we need to work hard on this.

Pescara have an enviable squad of strikers, even in Serie B; they have players of a higher calibre, and for us this will certainly be an important test to gauge how far we’ve come.

Not many Serie C teams are lucky enough to have players who represent their national teams, so I understand why the League is keeping the season going; there’s a rule stating that matches can be postponed if three players are called up, but unfortunately Šapola wasn’t called up for the Under-21s this time round, so it wasn’t possible. It’s a shame that Cannavò is so far away, because he was recovering from a long-term injury and, for both him and us, having him here training would have been important; whilst for Oyono it’s certainly a huge source of satisfaction – it’s a shame we don’t have him here, but it means he’s doing very well.

In this division, there are at least four or five teams that have put together strong squads, but that’s the case in every Serie C group. Pescara are currently lagging behind in the table, but their chairman has rightly said that this is the strongest team they’ve had in the last seven years, which goes to show the calibre of the side we’ll be facing on Sunday evening. We’ve got some tough matches ahead of us, which will certainly help us develop in terms of our understanding of the game and our experience, regardless of the result, and we mustn’t forget that the season is still a long way from over.

Bastoni? He’s improving day by day and I think that over the coming weeks he’ll be able to make his contribution with even more playing time.

If I were to talk only about results, I’d be wrong and it would be unfair to all of us. As I’ve said from the start, we must uphold our strong identity and we’ve promised ourselves that by the end of the season this squad will have matured and grown significantly; we’re doing a great job, both individually and as a team, to be able to take on anyone. Our aim is certainly to keep our supporters happy.

As of today, nothing has changed regarding injuries; we’re very sorry about that, because they were all lads who were performing very well, but we have other capable players and we’ll try to make the most of the players we have available, putting them in the best possible position to perform at their best.

Cazzadori? I’ve been very pleased with him right from the start because he’s a lad who’s always been extremely willing to help, and even though he struggled a bit with some of the basics at the beginning, he’s now a player who can make a really important contribution in that position.

Durmush? He’s a lad with extraordinary qualities, but he was born in 2005 and has rarely been in the starting line-up in previous seasons; what’s more, he’s often played as the fifth man. He therefore needs to adapt to what’s required of him, but if he comes on as he did in the last match – that is, with the desire to make his mark and with the right attitude – he can be a real game-changer.

Every team with five substitutes has the tools to turn a match around, and we ourselves have the chance to do so: whoever comes on from the bench, out of respect both for themselves and for the team, must give their all, especially when coming on as a substitute.

Pescara have plenty of quality options – a striker like Inglese, strong wingers and other players who have recently won Serie C – but I prefer to focus on my own team and on what we need to do.

I’ll say it again: the match at Pescara will be a real test.

Mateju? I had no doubt that he would approach the match intelligently and that he would put in a brilliant performance. He and I looked each other in the eye at the end of the transfer window, and looking into his eyes I could see he was someone who could be a huge help to us. I think he proved that as early as last Monday, because he played with great enthusiasm and self-sacrifice, and that really pleased me: I think a player like him can be a great help to the younger lads too.”