Paulo Sousa admits Fiorentina “have created expectations for this season, so the trip to Atalanta is very important.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
The first question was naturally about goalkeeper Luigi Sepe, who apologised after publicly slamming the Coach and club for dropping him in the Europa League tie with Tottenham.
Paulo Sousa admits Fiorentina “have created expectations for this season, so the trip to Atalanta is very important.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
The first question was naturally about goalkeeper Luigi Sepe, who apologised after publicly slamming the Coach and club for dropping him in the Europa League tie with Tottenham.
“The lads have certain expectations, but often the decisions don’t go the way they think,” replied Sousa.
“He had important chances, but I as a Coach have to make certain choices. Players must be responsible for what they say. The club has already expressed its verdict, now we will make some technical decisions too. I haven’t decided if he’ll be in the squad tomorrow.”
The Viola are in third place and still have a good chance of progressing in the Europa League following Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Spurs.
“We created expectations for this season, so the trip to Atalanta tomorrow is very important, a key fixture for all we have done so far. We have reached a good quality level of football.
“Atalanta are a well-organised side with a very experienced Coach. They have a modern style and we must give our all from the first to the last minute. It’ll be extremely difficult and we want to win.
“Roma have the squad to win the Scudetto, let alone challenge for third. Luciano Spalletti put the team back on track and with the players at their disposal it’s impossible to rule them out of the race for third.
“Then there are the two Milan clubs, who invested a great deal on the transfer market. However, we believe in our chances, as we can continue to compete with these sides who invested so much.”
Mauro Zarate is suspended against Atalanta, while Tino Costa and Yohan Benalouane are injured.
“Zarate had cramp at the end of the Tottenham game, as he’d never run so hard in his career. We’ll see how Borja Valero recovers, as he is a decisive player for us, but I am not looking at the fact he’s one yellow card away from suspension.
“This team makes me proud and forces me to be always ready to improve their growth. Now we are finding the right maturity for certain moments in a season and in a single match. That took us to beat Inter in a head-to-head.”