Giampaolo wants Doria to play their way in Empoli test

Marco Giampaolo’s demeanour in the pre-match news conference was indicative of what his side should show against Empoli: direct, pragmatic, sure-footed.

The Doria boss called on his side to play their way in tomorrow’s game: “We need to play in the Samp way; not like Napoli against Samp. I hope you understand what I mean.”

Giampaolo says he “owes a lot” to tomorrow’s visitors, because they brought him into Serie A.

The coach was not too coy on his line-up for the game but was sure to underline that, in the first home game of 2017, he wants his team to approach their task seriously and produce a “display with experience and solidity, without too much emphasis on aesthetics”.

Nor does he want his team to be distracted in their hunt for three points, pointing out that Empoli, while not being one of the big teams, do the important things well.

With Matias Silvestre and Edgar Barreto out of the upcoming game, Giampaolo wants his side to follow on from what happened in the outing in Naples with an added edge.

“We put in a great showing against a very strong side. It was a special kind of performance, because you can’t try and play like Barcelona against the team most like them in Italy. The boys deserved to go home with a positive result. It’s unfortunate what happened, but that’s been and gone. Our president has said everything on the issue,” the boss continued.

“I’ll just add that we’re paying the price for that, with Silvestre now banned. I don’t want to hear anyone say Matias shouldn’t have been there. He did nothing; [Pepe] Reina did what he did. That bit of cunning is part of the game, but there should be someone to make a decision on that incident.”