Udinese will head to Turin on Wednesday looking to pull off another shock result like the one against Inter, says Kosta Runjaic.
The coach was speaking to the media the day before the game at Allianz Stadium, when his team will be facing a Juventus side led by caretaker coach Massimo Brambilla after Igor Tudor was relieved of his duties on Monday.
Here's what Runjaic had to say:
The team's form
“Wins are always important at this stage of the season. There are no easy games and we must be consistent from one game to the next. You saw how I reacted when [Adam] Buksa made it 3-1. I was really happy because we were struggling. We know that everything is not perfect but it's not that bad either. Criticism and opinions come with the territory. I have to concentrate on my job and on the things that I can have an impact on.
"We had some good periods last season and I think we can be happy with 12 points from eight games, although some people won't be regardless. I want to improve all the time but you need to be balanced and consider the bigger picture.
“Tomorrow is an important game and we need consistency. People might criticise our line-up or they might criticise after the match but we're not thinking about what other people say – we're focusing on our football. We know they're under pressure. They've changed coach but they won't change the way they play. They're one of the best teams in the league. They lost to Lazio but they deserved at least a point and they should have beaten Atalanta. However, in football you're judged on your results. We don't expect them to change much. They'll be doing everything they can to win so we're going to have to dig in and try to give them a run for their money. We'll need to work well defensively and use the ball well when we have it, which is an area where we can improve. We surprised Inter at San Siro and we're ready to spring another surprise.”
Rotation
“We might make some changes to the starting line-up but we know how we want to play. We know how long certain players need to recover and we don't want to push them too hard. We've had some difficult games that took a lot out of us. We had to give everything against Lecce. Tomorrow we'll need to play with the right spirit and it will take a lot of energy. We have our last session today and tomorrow we'll make the final decisions. There may be some rotation. I can't tell you who it will involve, though. We have three games in the space of a week but right now we're focused on Juventus.”
Solet
“[Oumar] Solet has had some tests and they came back negative. We'll see how the last training session goes and then we'll speak to him, because besides what the doctors say it's also important how he feels. If he doesn't feel up to it, we have [Nicolo] Bertola, who has always done well this season – and we mustn't forget [Matteo] Palma either. The main thing is that everyone is ready when called upon and plays with the right energy.”
Juventus
“We shouldn't focus too much on our opponents. We know the situation they're in but they're a quality team. They know how football works and they're very tough to play at their home ground. They're up there with the best. You have to be really on your game to beat Juventus. We need to do everything we've prepared in training. We want to make it hard for them. The match could go their way or it could go ours. We didn't play badly in Turin last year. We went close to taking the lead but then we conceded too easily. At home we could have got back into the game in the second half. If we're bold enough and can play with the right quality, we can do well tomorrow and maybe come away with some points.”
Okoye
“Maduka knows the situation and perhaps he could have saved that free kick [against Lecce], although it was hit hard and his sight was covered. We have to accept what happened and first of all we shouldn't have conceded the free kick. We mustn't take pointless risks. We've paid a high price for mistakes in the past – like the first goal in this fixture last season. That's something we need to work on. Okoye is improving. He's working well and Juve will only be his third game. As the weeks pass, he'll find his stride and keep improving.”