Vincenzo Italiano admitted he ‘didn’t expect’ such a positive start and wants Fiorentina to continue being fully committed against Inter this week. ‘We have one training to prepare for the most difficult match’.
The Viola have won three games on the bounce after losing the opening game against Roma and are sharing third with the Giallorossi and Napoli, who have one game in hand against Udinese tonight.
Vlahovic believes he can ‘compete’ with Haaland: ‘He’s faster than me, but…’
Italiano’s men are back in action against the reigning champions tomorrow and the coach is happy that his side are getting attention for their great results in the start of the new season.
“I didn’t expect such a positive start in terms of points,” Italiano revealed at a press conference. “I hoped, I certainly believed in it. But I didn’t expect it, not so much the points, but the spirit we are showing.
“I’m happy, you have to be quick to learn and yourself understood. I hope that this spirit will accompany Fiorentina for a long time and I’m happy that we have earned this attention from the insiders.
“Playing this game is a source of pride. We face the Italian champions; they are healthy, and they will come here with a high self-esteem after six goals.
“We must prepare for it in a short time, we have one training to prepare for the most difficult match of the championship and we must be ready.”
But the coach lowers the expectations in Florence, as he points at the main target of reaching safety.
“We are happy, we are all happy,” he continued. “The club is happy, and the group is happy.
“I see a team that is focused on everything we do, we talk about football and we look at the games carefully. It’s nice to continue and we must not let our guard down, it would be stupid to give up…
“We are all happy and confident, but we realise we have only played four games. There’s still a long way left. We are missing 31 points from our first target, which is what we all have to look at.
“Then, we’ll improve with the work we do, even the best improves. We must not give up, because giving up means giving advantages to the opponents.”