Ranieri: “Napoli will be tough but we’re no pushovers either”

Claudio Ranieri says Sampdoria are ready to give as good as they get when they host a buoyant Napoli on Monday.

The visitors arrive in Genoa after beating Lazio in the Coppa Italia and Juventus in the league but the coach insists they’ll have their work cut out at the Stadio Ferraris.

“I expect Napoli to be strong, determined opponents. They’ve been reinvigorated by recent results and I’m expecting a real battle. They’ll come here looking for three points but we’re ready for them. It’s going to be difficult for us but our opponents won’t find it easy either.”

Ranieri then shared his thoughts on deadline-day signings Antonino La Gumina and Maya Yoshida.

“La Gumina is the sort of player we needed – someone who’s quick on the break. The club was interested in him years ago, then he joined Empoli. It didn’t work out for him there but I hope he can rediscover his Palermo form here.

“Yoshida is the captain of Japan and I know what Japanese players are like having coached [Yuto] Nagatomo at Inter and [Shinji] Okazaki at Leicester – they’re top professionals.

“I’m sorry to lose [Vasco] Regini. He’s an exemplary player who always gave everything when called upon. The same goes for [Gianluca] Caprari. He left because he said he needed a fresh challenge.”

The coach also spoke highly of club captain Fabio Quagliarella, who has just celebrated his 37th birthday.

“Quagliarella is the sort of player who can win games single-handedly and I’m sure he’ll show people what he’s capable of between now and the end of the season”

The boss ended with a thought for the fans.

“Our fans are brilliant – they brought a shiver down my spine last Sunday. They know we need them at the moment and they must get behind us. We’ll fight tooth and nail for every ball but they need to help us when we make mistakes.”