Montella: “We’re an improving side”

It was against Palermo, half a season ago, that Vincenzo Montella secured his first win as Sampdoria boss. Now he’s looking for a repeat so that Doria can make 100% of their Serie A status for next season.

“We’re going to the Barbera to win. We want three points to keep going on this upwards curve we’re on. If you take the last nine league games we’d be sixth with the points we’ve earned and that tells you how consistent we’ve been lately,” the coach said when he met with reporters to preview Palermo v Samp at a press conference today.

The Blucerchiati look a different side now to the team that won the reverse fixture 2-0 back in December.

“Quite a few players have changed but we’ve changed the way we play and our formation too,” Montella added.

The manager also confirmed that both Antonio Cassano and Riccardo Alvarez will be in the squad against Palermo before responding to questions about his future: “I’m happy with the club and we speak very openly. We’re planning for next year.”

On potentially replacing Antonio Conte as head coach of Italy: “Nobody’s called me about it. I’ll think about that if and when it happens.”