Manuel Locatelli suggested that it was ‘useless to hide’ how the off-pitch issues at Juventus are impacting the squad.
The Bianconeri were handed a 15-point deduction by the FIGC court as a result of a case focused on inflated player values in transfers, with allegations of falsified capital gains. The club have announced their intention to appeal, but for the time being find themselves in the mid-table with 23 points, 14 off the Champions League spots.
Speaking to Sky Sports Italia after Juventus’ 3-3 draw with Atalanta, Locatelli first reacted to the game and spoke about the ongoing off-pitch issues at the club.
“It’s clear that these are situations that affect us, useless to hide it. We just have to respond on the pitch, respect the fans, on the rest we can’t do anything.
“But we’ve united even more as a squad and we have to restart from this.”
He was asked if there was something different in the dressing room following the point deduction.
“Definitely there was, we united more and we have to give everything in every game. We can only do that.”
The Italian midfielder revealed what coach Massimiliano Allegri told his players.
“The coach makes us stay focused only on the pitch and that’s what we have to think about.”
Finally, Locatelli discussed the increased usage of players from the Next Gen squad, Juventus’ second team.
“In this situation it’s nice to have so many young players who give you that extra light-heartedness, tonight we saw some real men and that’s what counts.”
Juventus’ next match is against the Silvio Berlusconi’s Monza on January 29.