Ranieri: “Udinese a strong, physical side. I’ll be shouting from the stands”

Claudio Ranieri says Sampdoria’s recent displays give him confidence going into the remaining matches.

“The lads did really well in Bergamo,” the coach began, speaking ahead of Doria’s visit to Udinese. “We pressed them high and didn’t give them time on the ball. Unfortunately we lost but I don’t think we deserve it given the way we played. We gave a good account of ourselves.

“From a physical perspective, it was one of our best performances this season. That shows you what good shape the lads are in and makes me hopeful for our coming games.”

The boss knows his side are in for another tough test in Udine.

“Udinese are a very big, physical team. They’re all strong players.

Udinese are a team in form I think they’re Serie A’s best counter-attacking side so we must be careful not to let them play on the counter.”

Ranieri won’t be in the dugout at the Dacia Arena following his sending off against Atalanta but believes he will still be able to influence proceedings.

“I think my touchline ban could be considered correct because I was protesting,” he admitted. “However, there are times when coaches disagree with a decision by the referee and I feel the fourth official could act as a peace-maker and mediate a touch more.

“I’ll watch the match from the stands but with no fans the players will hear me anyway because I’ll be shouting from the first step above the dugout.”

Hear more from the boss in the video below.