This week's Monday night guest on TV 12's Udinese Tonight was Gokhan Inler. As we head into 2026, the technical director took stock of the first part of the season, starting with Saturday's last-gasp draw against Lazio.
“[Keinan] Davis's goal was an amazing feeling. I even ran onto the pitch myself. It felt great because we didn't deserve to lose. If we play like that every game, it won't be easy for anyone to beat us. The lads worked hard during the week. They know they're a talented bunch but you have to prove it week in week out. We're working to try and give the team more consistency. We have to play every game the way we played against Napoli. It's not easy but we must be more compact at least. With the coach and the staff we're working on that, explaining to the players that every match is different. You have to observe the players and how they behave every day. Sometimes there can be pressure from the outside too – in the family for example. We try to be aware of everything and support them. I'm here to offer them help every day.
“As for our league position, I'm ambitious. I don't like losing games, especially ones we could win. We've dropped points but we can have a good season. Hopefully we can move up a level. The lads have gained experience. Our first target is to reach 40 points but we want to aim higher. We saw what happened last season so when we get to 40 we're going to push harder. When you put in a performance like the one against Napoli, it fires everyone up – they trained really well before Florence.
“You get moments like the red card but the players were disappointed themselves. You can play well with ten men. You can't afford to let up for a moment because in Serie A you get punished immediately. That's the mindset we need. There's lots of competition and lots of players pushing hard.
“On a fitness level the statistics say we're one of the top five teams in Serie A but we must figure out how to avoid the ups and downs in our performance levels. Sometimes you need to be tough. I often say that to the leaders of the team like [Daniele] Padelli, [Christian] Kabasele and [Jesper] Karlstrom. Everyone needs to have that mentality. We know we can give anyone a game.
“I take each match as it comes and we're moving forward step by step. Our target isn't 50 points. Obviously we know it would be the best result in 12 years and we'd like to get there but we must take one step at a time. Now we have to play Como. They're a strong team who play good football but we'll go there to show our mentality.
“We have a core group of leaders and [Jakub] Piotrowski is settling in well. [Arthur] Atta will get there for sure. The same goes for [Thomas] Kristensen. They're key players even though they're young. Then of course the transfer market is unpredictable.
“Padelli has great leadership skills. He's ambitious and always trains well. Age doesn't matter when you love the game. I have a lot of time for him and we often talk about how to help the team. He's always ready to play – you can always rely on him. Who will play in goal now? The coach makes the final decision. We have four good goalkeepers. We have confidence in [Razvan] Sava. He has a lot of quality. [Alessandro] Nunziante is a very good goalkeeper, an Italy youth international and very promising. Daniele is very good. We know [Maduka] Okoye has had a few below-par performances but he's our No.1 and we have faith in him. He started the season late but he's put everything behind him. I'm there for him and I want to help him make the step up. He has everything he needs to become one of Europe's top goalkeepers. I know the fans are a bit disappointed but we must stick together as we're in the same boat.”