Ranieri urges caution: “We must be ready for a tricky game against Brescia”

Claudio Ranieri warned against complacency as he appeared at a pre-match press conference to preview Sunday’s clash between Sampdoria and Brescia on Friday.

“We will need to be very switched-on and show humility and respect,” said the Doria boss. “I know the kind of game we need to expect – in some ways it will be more difficult than the AC Milan match. I hope I’ve passed that message on to the team.

“Brescia know their game inside out because they’ve been training together for a number of seasons. [Mario] Balotelli is a top player but Brescia are about more than just Balotelli.”

Ranieri said that the Blucerchiati have taken confidence from taking a point off AC Milan at San Siro last time out.

“The draw at AC Milan showed us that if we play as a team, we can cause any opponent problems,” he said. “I want to see the same attitude we produced at San Siro again on Sunday.”

Ranieri was pushed on how many points he believes will be enough to reach safety this season, but was unwilling to give a specific tally.

“The team were bottom of the table when I arrived, but I’ve always been positive – that’s my nature,” he said. “I don’t know if 40 points will be enough to keep us in the division. There are a lot of teams fighting it out. We need to keep believing in what we’re doing – there will be ups and downs, but we can’t let our heads drop when we have a slip-up.”

Ranieri also had a message for the fans after the news that a sizeable number will be at the training ground on Saturday to cheer the team on ahead of the game.

“There’s a fantastic atmosphere around this club,” he said. “It’s hard to sum the fans up. We have to thank them – I’m very happy to do that.”