Ranieri: “We go to Bologna looking to stay in the top half”

Claudio Ranieri has called for his Sampdoria side to defend their top-half status as they prepare to face Bologna on Sunday.

“It’s always a shame when you concede in stoppage time,” began the Doria coach, looking back to last weekend’s game with Cagliari. “We still need to secure our Serie A status, but we’ve been in the top half for a long time and that’s where we want to stay. I’m pretty relaxed about our performances.”

Ranieri also warned his players to be wary to the attacking threat posed by Bologna – a team Samp haven’t beaten on their own patch since 2003.

“We need to watch out for Bologna because they create a lot,” he said. “We’ve lost every game 2-1 against them during my time here, so hopefully this is our year. We have a bad record at the Dall’Ara, but sooner or later that will change.”

The Doria coach then went on to discuss the team’s form in more detail.

“I said to the players [after Cagliari]: OK, we conceded in the 95th minute, but another time we’ll get an equaliser or a winner in the 95th minute,” he said. “Football teaches you not to give up and not to take anything for granted. You can’t be on top form for a whole season, but if we win the next two games, we’ll have the same record we did in the first half of the season. My goal is to double the points tally we got in the first half of the campaign.”

Check out more from the boss below!