Giampaolo focused on Atalanta as Samp look to end slump

Speaking at the team’s training camp in Novara, where Sampdoria have had two training sessions ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Atalanta, Marco Giampaolo expressed confidence in his squad despite a difficult spell.

“The team is wounded, not dead. We’ll go to Bergamo looking to put in a solid display,” he said.

“These two days away were necessary and have done us good. We have a few players absent, some not fully fit, but I’m not concerned about that. I fully believe we’ll be up to the task, ready to face a tough opponent, which reached 72 points last season.

“We’ve looked over the performance in Verona. For one half, in terms of our general play, that was the team we know. Of course, you can go through tough spells, but you get over that by working and believing in the work you’re doing.

“My aim is to get constant improvement from the team in these last nine games,” he added.

With the Genoa derby on the horizon, the boss was keen to maintain focus on tomorrow’s trip to Bergamo.

“I said it before Verona and I’ll say it again today: we’re focusing on Atalanta. An opponent of this kind merits full concentration. From Wednesday we’ll start thinking about the derby.”