Gian Piero Gasperini warns the Europa League play-off against FC Copenhagen is “our priority right now and fundamental for our season.”
The first leg of the play-off is at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio-Emilia on Thursday at 19.00 UK time (18.00 GMT).
The decider is in Denmark on August 30 at 17.30 UK time (16.30 GMT).
“We’ll play to the best of our abilities, as this qualification is fundamental for the rest of our season and we’ve been training since July 1 to be ready.
Gian Piero Gasperini warns the Europa League play-off against FC Copenhagen is “our priority right now and fundamental for our season.”
The first leg of the play-off is at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio-Emilia on Thursday at 19.00 UK time (18.00 GMT).
The decider is in Denmark on August 30 at 17.30 UK time (16.30 GMT).
“We’ll play to the best of our abilities, as this qualification is fundamental for the rest of our season and we’ve been training since July 1 to be ready.
“Now we have reached this play-off, it’s all down to two games, and right now it is our primary objective,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
“Qualification will be hard-fought against a strong side, probably the best available in the draw, but we want to reach the group stage. There’s no point making predictions now, we’ll see how it goes and will play with confidence, but also realising it’ll probably be decided in Copenhagen.
“We’ll see how it starts, how the game develops and will go out there eager to make a big impact from the start.”
Atalanta have had an excellent start to the campaign, beating Frosinone 4-0 in Serie A and eliminating Sarajevo and Hapoel Haifa in the Europa League preliminary rounds.
“We’ve had a period with more squad rotation and I am fortunate to have so many talented forwards available. Whoever is in the best shape, or most suited to the opponent and the fixture, will start. I don’t have a specific hierarchy on who plays when.
“The fact we have more alternatives in that area of the team is a strength, not a problem. You can’t try to make this into an issue every game, it has to make us stronger.
“We know our strengths and the weaknesses that can be exploited in the Copenhagen side. The Europa League is our priority right now.”