Claudio Ranieri warned Sampdoria “have to start acting like teams who fight tooth and claw to avoid relegation” after their 1-0 defeat to Parma.
Juraj Kucka’s early header proved the difference, as Luigi Sepe parried a Fabio Quagliarella penalty and Manolo Gabbiadini’s free kick hit the crossbar.
Claudio Ranieri warned Sampdoria “have to start acting like teams who fight tooth and claw to avoid relegation” after their 1-0 defeat to Parma.
Juraj Kucka’s early header proved the difference, as Luigi Sepe parried a Fabio Quagliarella penalty and Manolo Gabbiadini’s free kick hit the crossbar.
“We took a good half-hour before we actually started playing. Unfortunately, we allowed ourselves to be taken by surprise on a corner,” said the coach in his press conference.
“I liked the final 15 minutes and we did create more in general in the second half, but unfortunately this is the situation we are in.
“Sampdoria are not accustomed to being in the relegation battle, so we have to very quickly adapt, which means showing greater determination and focusing on clean sheets. We weren’t gritty enough in the first half and gifted 30 minutes to Parma.
“We have to start acting like those teams who will fight tooth and claw for every single point to avoid relegation. We need that determination and fight first, then we can think about quality.”
Sampdoria face a real relegation dogfight next week, as they’ll be facing local rivals Genoa in the Derby della Lanterna.
“Walking around the city, everyone can feel the atmosphere as we approach the derby. I don’t need to fire anyone up for that.”