Giampaolo: “We’ll need our wits about us against Fiorentina’s possession game”

It’s been a big week for Marco Giampaolo with a victory over Inter and a freshly penned new contract but the coach was keen to turn the page and focus solely on Fiorentina when he sat down with the media on Saturday.

“We’re expecting a tough game because Fiorentina are the sort of side we find it hard to play against. They’re the best team in the league in possession and we’ll need to keep our wits about us if we want to do well tomorrow.”

Giampaolo knows Paulo Sousa’s side still nurture hopes of claiming an unlikely Europa League spot for next season but he insists the Blucerchiati have no intention of taking their foot off the pedal themselves.

“Fiorentina certainly won’t be coming here for walk in the park as they need points to keep their hopes of securing European football alive. However, we’ve got plenty of incentive of our own: we’ve surprised a few people this year and we don’t want to stop now.”

The boss also expressed his satisfaction with the squad available to him.

“The young players add enthusiasm but it’s the experienced players like Quagliarella, Barreto, Silvestre, Regini, Viviano – including those who don’t play so much like Puggioni and Palombo – who help me gauge how the squad is doing. I’d need to be able to pick 15 to keep everyone happy but Samp comes before anything else – myself included.”

Hear more from the boss in the video below.