Andrea Sottil expressed his satisfaction with his patched-up Udinese side after they fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat against Juventus on the final day of the season.
“The lads gave everything they had,” he began. “It was an emergency situation but we knew that. We managed to match a great team like Juve, despite all the difficulties. It's a shame we couldn't take any of our chances but I have no complaints. This team deserves plaudits for an excellent season.
“With the selection problems we had, we handed full debuts to two lads born in 2004 [James Abankwah and Axel Guessand] – two highly promising lads the club has invested in. They deserved this chance and I must say they did well. The same goes for [Nicolo] Cocetta. Regardless of the result, it's wonderful to see these 18-year-old kids out there holding their own against Juve's stars. They the future of Udinese.
“I came in here with my ideas and the team has made constant improvement in terms of our football, our identity and our approach to games. There are lots of solid foundations and we'll put a strong squad together. We've planted a seed. We'll build on these 46 points and most of these lads will be staying with us.”