Ahead of our Serie A curtain-raiser against AC Milan, Gerard Deulofeu spoke of his determination to continue in the same vein as the excellent campaign he had last time out.
“I have to keep playing with the same confidence, keep striving to do better and trying to understand what the coach and my team-mates want of me," the Spaniard said in the build-up to the 18:30 CEST kick-off at San Siro. "You work hard all week so that you're ready when matchday comes around.”
Last season Udinese and Juventus were the only Serie A sides not beaten by eventual champions AC Milan. If that is to happen again, "we must stick to our principles. Everyone knows we're a tough side to beat – including our opponents today. We've spent a lot of time working towards this game, all pre-season in fact. Now it's time to get out there and give it everything we've got.”
Finally, having been the subject of recent transfer speculation, the forward sought to allay the fans' fears.
“I'm fully focused on Udinese. I have two years left on my contract and if there's one thing I've learnt in football it's that you need a clear head to play at your best. You can't be thinking about what might happen tomorrow. My mind is on my team, on the here and now.”