07 December 2023
NAPOLI CLASH
“This is a six-pointer. We have five games left before we reach the midway point of the season and they'll all be difficult. Our target is to finish the first half of the campaign with more points than we did last term, when we had 38. We're already on 33 and we hope to achieve our target but we mustn't take it for granted.
“Tomorrow will be very tough. Napoli stayed in the game against Inter until the second goal and we've only beaten them once in our last seven meetings – that's something we need to put right. They're a dangerous side away from home and have picked up 17 points on the road already.”
TEAM SELECTION
“[Manuel] Locatelli is fine and everyone has recovered except [Timothy] Weah. Danilo and Alex Sandro are better now but they might not both play the full game.
“Morale is great and the Monza win has got people excited – that's all well and good as long as we keep our goals clear in mind.
“[Dusan] Vlahovic is in good shape. You can only miss a penalty if you step up to take one.
“[Federico] Gatti is coming on in leaps and bounds. Let's not forget he was playing in Lega Pro three seasons ago. Now comes the hard part: staying at the level he's at. However he's got the desire and the ability to do that.
“We won't be experimenting in midfield. If Danilo plays, he'll be in defence.”
RESULTS BUSINESS
“What you perceive is not always the same as reality. We must stay grounded and keep working away. That's the only way you can affect things.
“Football is a results business and our first target is to improve on our position at the midway point last term. We'll focus on that until 7 January.
“It's a strange season: the top eight teams have 17 points fewer than the bottom 12 compared to last season. That shows you how evenly balanced the league is this year.
“Part of this job involves dealing with the pressure but we have to remember the league doesn't finish tomorrow. There's still a long way to go.”
