Coach Kosta Runjaic took stock of Udinese’s pre-season campaign once the team’s match against Trabzonspor was over.
“Today our opponents played with their best line-up. Of course, we’re not happy with the outcome. We have to do much better wdefensively. I don’t want to find excuses for my players, but we’ve played with many rotations. We played without Maduka [Okoye] and our second keeper. Some players are still not in top form. Some perhaps are still not 100% focused on the daily work because of the transfer window, but in general, the team gave it their all today. We really deserved to draw the match because we created many chances.
“In a normal match, that tackle in the second half on [Idrissa] Gueye would’ve been a red card. But it doesn’t matter. I’m happy that we finished the match without any injuries, and I saw many good things and things we’ll have to work on in the coming weeks.
“At this time, [Alessandro] Zanoli is not ready yet, while [Juan] Arizala has had some problems and played for 25 minutes. So, I opted for some defenders as wing-backs, which didn’t help them. So we played with a back four, which is easier to handle for players such as [Matteo] Palma and [Saba] Goglichidze who played as full-backs. I believe we performed well. It took us a few minutes to settle in, especially at the beginning. The heat also made it a difficult match and we handled it very well. I don’t think Trabzonspor expected such a demanding game against us. It’s always nice to see so many fans as we did today. They always support us and we know we can count on them.
“We’ve been working very hard these past few weeks. We always try to give it everything. Of course, training without Maduka and our second keeper these past few weeks was not ideal in terms of the team bonding together and line-up choices. Of course, we’re waiting for the next transfer window decisions, both in terms of signings and players leaving, but we keep giving it our all. In football, every season is a story of its own and we do our best every day.
“From this point of view, the players have had a great attitude. We were put in fantastic conditions to work well in this pre-season, which also included good weather. Sometimes it was a bit hot, but that’s normal, it’s summer. In a few weeks, we’ll play in the same weather conditions. I’m not complaining. Quite the opposite, we must realise that we need to improve a lot in the defensive phase, I know that.
“We need to be ready for this new season, which will be long and hard. However, I’m confident that we will make the most of it and do everything that needs to be done.”