Atalanta trip “a chance to near our objectives”, says Giampaolo

Sampdoria’s trip to Bergamo this weekend could prove key in the team’s push up the table, but Marco Giampaolo underlined that all will be decided later in the league campaign.

“It won’t be a decisive contest – it could help us get closer to our objectives, and that goes for both sides,” he said.

“Decisive games are where it’s all to play for over 90 or 180 minutes. We’re not there yet – there’s still some thousand-plus minutes to play. The decisive games will come.”

The game comes off the back of a tough week of training, blighted by the weather conditions.

“It was an unusual week – with the snow, rain and the cold. Aside from Thursday, where we had some issues, we were able to train well. Our grounds staff did really good work,” the boss said.

“We watched Atalanta in several video sessions – we know this will be a tough and complex game. The way Gian Piero Gasperini’s teams play makes it tough for any side.

“They’ve a completely different approach to ours. It’s not better or worse, just different. There will be individual battles in midfield. He’s able to transmit his ideas to his teams and Atalanta embody the features he wants.”

Tomorrow’s game, while not decisive, will be an opportunity for Sampdoria to give themselves margin for error.

“Nothing will be decided for certain tomorrow and it’s the same story for the election. Things won’t be settled on Sunday, probably, let alone in our game in Bergamo.

“We’re not going there to play a friendly – we know that. We’ve got 12 games left need to win 5 or 6 of those. Clearly, we need to win some games away from home.

“Getting a result in Bergamo could give us leeway, room to drop points in future,” he added.