Giampaolo: “A point from a tight contest but we need to be more clinical”

A small step forward. After a glut of defeats, October has brought with it a pair of draws. Here’s Marco Giampaolo’s take on the point at Pescara: “We knew we could ill afford to get things wrong, it was an awkward match. This result gives us a foothold after a tough spell but we need to acknowledge who we are. The only thing I’d criticise is that we weren’t clinical enough after they had a man sent off. The league table shows we have a few minor issues. We need to keep working.”

The coach then broke down the game from a tactical perspective: “Pescara harnessed everything they do well – counter attacks, pace and runs in behind. We, on the other hand, didn’t exploit our man advantage. We didn’t attack in sufficient numbers and ultimately 1-1 is the fair result. We set out our stall in their half and did well to win possession back and break when it was 11 v 11. We didn’t do that when we were playing against ten men though.”

Finally, Giampaolo gave his thoughts on what appears a tricky run of fixtures for his side: “We’ll take things one game at a time, Sunday’s next.”