Ranieri: “We’re in a race against ourselves and we want revenge”

Claudio Ranieri has called on his Sampdoria side to bounce back from their heavy defeat to champions-elect Inter last time out when they take on Spezia on Wednesday night.

“Thankfully we have another game straight away after Saturday,” said Ranieri, speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. “We’re out for revenge against Spezia after they beat us in the reverse fixture. We want to produce a big performance and I want to see some good showings from my players. We need to make sure we’re ready to press and leave them no time to think.

“We’re a lot further ahead of them now than we were when we went there. It’s a derby so there needs to be a bit of needle, but we’re in a race against ourselves.”

Ranieri went on to reflect on this most unique of seasons, with the Spezia match the final midweek game of the campaign.

“It’s the final midweek clash of what’s been a crazy season,” he said. “It’s not football without the fans. It’s a whole other sport. As I’ve said, we’ve really missed our fans. Without that connection, that support that we get from our passionate fans, it’s just not the same. But we’re just one step away from achieving the target I’ve set for my players.”

Check out more from the boss below!