Following their friendly match against Swansea in Mittersill, which ended in a 0-2 defeat for Udinese, Matteo Palma and coach Kosta Runjaic were interviewed for the club’s official YouTube channel.
Palma: “It was a good test for the team. We are just starting to prepare for the upcoming season and we are aware that there’s still a lot of work to be done. Now we’re already focused on our upcoming training sessions and matches.
“Our preparation is going smoothly; we started this pre-season well. So far I’m happy. I always try to do my part for the team.
“I’m happy that I’ve renewed my contract with the club and that I can play here with the first team.”
Runjaic: “Swansea have been training longer than we have, but it was nevertheless a good test for us. The Championship is a very competitive league. They played a physical match and put in a lot of energy. We performed better in the second half than in the first, although we conceded that second goal.
“The season hasn’t started yet and getting this type of feedback from the pitch is a good thing. Yesterday’s double training session affected the players’ overall performance today. I don’t have much to say about this game; there’s still a lot of work to do. I’m optimistic. Over these past three weeks, we’ve worked well. Losing some matches is part of the pre-season period. It’s definitely better for us to lose some games now than in a month’s time.”
“[Mergim] Vojvoda only has a few training sessions under his belt. He started pre-season later than the rest of the team. He needs time to adjust to a new position and a different approach from the one he was used to at Como, but in training we’ve already seen that he’s a serious player, who’s confident when in possession, and I’m sure he’ll do well.
“[Unai] Gomez said that he’s noticed that training in Italy is very focused on physical work, but all leagues are becoming increasingly physical and we focus on that. We’re focused because we want to do well in Serie A, which is a very difficult league. It’s a challenge. We know we have to work hard, but I believe that so far things are going well.”