Gianpaolo Pozzo gave an exclusive interview to Udinese TV's Francesco Pezzella on Monday evening as part of the weekly Udinese Tonight show.
Here's what the club owner had to say:
“What's impressed me about this Udinese team is their determination and desire to obtain results. Footballers naturally seek that anyway but the coach is decisive, and so too are the rest of the staff and the club as a whole. The team has more or less the same potential as last season. The new players were chosen to help build an even stronger team. It will take a bit of time before the newcomers settle into their new surroundings and find the right chemistry
“This year we've changed the way we manage training sessions and the mentality, and the players have been receptive. As always, much of the credit goes to the coach; if he's given excellent players to work with, he can express his football ideas. It all starts with the leader.
"[Andrea] Sottil makes intelligent substitutions during the game too but I don't need to praise him for that – the results speak for themselves. We have complete confidence in him."
Pozzo went on to discuss the club's possible targets for the campaign.
“We're not getting carried away because we know how difficult Serie A is and how strong the big clubs with world-class players and much bigger budgets are. We have to sign players with big potential and develop them quickly so that we can achieve our objectives.
“I'm a big football fan – I don't do this for business. 36 years ago I'd never have imagined I'd be involved in the game first hand. The reason I started was to lend Udinese a hand. It was supposed to be a consortium and then it ended up being just me and my family, who have inherited my passion and desire to be successful and to return to the European stage. If we haven't managed that in recent years, it's not because we've become disorganised, merely that it's a very tough league and it not an easy mountain to climb. However, I believe we can do it and I'll keep believing every year because I want to enjoy the experience of European football once again, as we have done many times [11] before.
“Of course our goal is to get in the way of the big teams but at the start the season our primary objective is always to stay up, not getting into Europe. The reality is the level is very high so you have to fight hard if you want to finish high up the table. Essentially I'm a football fan: I always hope to see my team win every Sunday.”