Claudio Ranieri admits Sampdoria “will have to suffer” to stay up this season as he confirms Fabio Quagliarella will be back against Juventus.
The Blucerchiati are only two points above Brescia in 18th plrace, but their Serie A rivals have one game in hand, and Ranieri accepts his side will have to “sacrifice and sweat for the shirt”.
“It will be hard, we will have to suffer until the last day,” he said at a press conference.
Claudio Ranieri admits Sampdoria “will have to suffer” to stay up this season as he confirms Fabio Quagliarella will be back against Juventus.
The Blucerchiati are only two points above Brescia in 18th plrace, but their Serie A rivals have one game in hand, and Ranieri accepts his side will have to “sacrifice and sweat for the shirt”.
“It will be hard, we will have to suffer until the last day,” he said at a press conference.
“We must remain focused. I think the fans have got to know me a bit more. I promise them hard work, sacrifice and sweat for the shirt.
“I want them to show heart and vibrancy.”
After the 1-0 win against Genoa in the Derby della Lanterna, Samp must regroup immediately for a midweek fixture against Juve tomorrow.
“The derby was really nice, but we immediately focus on the next game, even if it will come a day later, a week later or two weeks later.
The 68-year-old admitted he wasn’t sure if Maurizio Sarri would again start Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo together.
There are calls for the trio to line up in a trident for Juve after they all shone in a 3-1 victory over Udinese.
“They are magnificent, but I don’t know if Sarri will start them against us.
“We will focus on playing our game, we are not planning on giving up, we will fight until the end.
“Sarri asked me if he could come and watch one of my training sessions, I told him that there are great coaches in Serie C too.
“We also played against each other; he’s got the capability. He is shaping Juventus with his style.
“It will be a great game; they certainly have a great future ahead. How many players I would take from them? We’ll talk about the transfer market later!”
About his own players, the former Roma boss said suspended Ronaldo Vieira would be missed but bragged about the stamina of Norwegian starlet Morten Thorsby.
He also confirmed Quagliarella was fit to face the Bianconeri.
“We will see if [Albin] Ekdal is available again. Quagliarella will be there for sure. He trained with the group and he’s fine.
“Vieira is a big loss for us because he recovers so many balls. I am happy with him and with the job he is doing. He’s young.
“Thorsby runs between 12 and 15km from his midfield position, we’ll see if he plays.
“It’s difficult to remove [Karol] Linetty at this point, he can play both in the middle and on the sides, like [Jakub] Jankto.”
Manolo Gabbiadini scored the winner against Genoa and won them the local derby, but Ranieri wants to see him smile more.
“He is getting in shape; he is finding the smell of the goal that a striker needs to have.
“His left foot is a brush. If he smiled a little bit more , it would be perfect!”