Stankovic: “Giving up mustn’t be in our DNA”

Head coach Dejan Stankovic was keen to look at the positives after his side fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Fiorentina to bow out of the Coppa Italia in the last 16.

“We managed a few issues ahead of the game, such as [Nicola] Murru and [Bram] Nuytinck, who were a bit fatigued and had a touch of flu. We don’t have the luxury of taking risks in these areas.

“I’m pleased that Omar Colley is back, as well as [Abdelhamid] Sabiri and Filip [Djuricic] after they hadn’t a full, or almost a full game in such a long time in the case of Sabiri.

“Unfortunately, we’ve been knocked out and nobody is pleased about that, but we have to look ahead to Monday. We managed to rotate and make some changes at half time because we need that energy.

“We need to be ready for every game as if it’s our last. It’s important not to give up and to be proud of what we’re doing. The results will come. The players are fully committed. There are difficulties but giving up mustn’t be in our DNA. We’re moving forward.”