Giampaolo calls for ambition and ruthlessness against Cagliari

After a defeat of the kind Sampdoria suffered at the weekend, with a stoppage time winner for Inter dealing a hammer blow to Marco Giampaolo and his players, the coach underlined ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Cagliari that there’s little point dwelling on the negatives.

“That disappointment of the defeat needs to be contained into as short a period as possible. We need to bounce back and recover both physically and mentally,” the coach said

“We need to take the positives from the game, having looked at it objectively, and in the knowledge that we went toe-to-toe with a top side.

“That should give us a boost in confidence and desire, to keep on improving.”

With Samp facing a hectic run of fixtures, Giampaolo played down the difficulty of playing games in quick succession at this point of the season.

“Playing straight after a defeat gives you the chance to bounce back. But whether we play straight away or a week later doesn’t change anything,” he said.

“We’re in this run of fixtures now, with five matches in fifteen days. We’ll need our mental strength, but these are experiences that will help us develop – being able to recover more quickly and knowing when to switch on and switch off.”

With their trip to Cagliari, Giampaolo and his players travel to a ground that they have traditionally found it tough to play at.

“They assault you and play with very high intensity on their own patch. They’ve got more quality than last year too,” the boss commented.

However, he added: “We’ve prepared the details for this game. I believe the team is ready.

“Every game in this league is difficult – none are impossible but each one is tough.

“We need to be ruthless, determined and ambitious. If we put in a good display and make sure we’re fully focused on the game, we’ll get the result we want.”