Di Francesco demands ‘combative’ Samp in Sassuolo trip

Ahead of Sampdoria’s trip to Sassuolo on Sunday, Eusebio Di Francesco told the press he wants to see a different side to that which was defeated by Lazio in matchday one.

“We have to bounce back, starting with our attitude. I don’t want to see the team suffer like it did against Lazio,” he said.

“We cannot get our attitude wrong – I want to see a combative side. We have an opportunity to make up for what we lost last week,” the coach continued.

He added: “The response can only come on the pitch – I’m not talking about points, but about the way we approach and go into the game.

“Rather than talking about systems, I really believe that you can set up however you want on the pitch, but it’s useless if you’re lacking the ruthlessness and guile you need.

“We’ve only had one game so far, however, so we don’t want to dramatize this defeat. We wanted a better start but we now need to react.

“Everyone here wants to show they’re not the team from last Sunday. Honestly the performance against Lazio surprised me.

“Sassuolo are further ahead than we are. They’ve been working together for a year, while we’ve still got to complete our team.

“I know the set-up very well there – they lost their first game and they’ll certainly want to bounce back. I want to help my guys with what I know about their players.

“I’ve got great memories from my time at Sassuolo, including getting to the Europa League. In football things are forgotten quickly.

“We need to round off the transfer window and make sure we’ve got the right foundations for this campaign.”