Ranieri: “We don’t know what the restart will be like. It’s down to us to be ready”

“Being back together and setting foot on the training pitch is a wonderful feeling,” was Claudio Ranieri’s message with a smile on his face, and the coach certainly has good reason to smile, with his Sampdoria squad back in training in Bogliasco for two weeks now after the COVID-19 pandemic. Serie A is set to resume on 20 June, starting with the postponed fixtures from Matchday 25.

“We all have a burning desire to do well,” stated the boss at the Mugnaini, “but resuming after two months off is an unfamiliar situation and I’ve encouraged the lads to be cautious. As we gradually get closer to resuming the action, we’ll go up through the gears.”

“We have no shortage of motivation and are in a real dog fight,” concluded Ranieri. “We don’t know if this season will end normally, so I’ve been regularly reminding the players that we have to give everything to remain above the relegation zone to make sure we’re protected from any nasty surprises.”