Stankovic: “Three points against Verona – we owe it to our fans”

Dejan Stankovic wants nothing less than a win when Sampdoria host Verona on Sunday.

The Blucerchiati have not been getting the results their performances have deserved in recent weeks while fellow basement battlers Hellas have been picking up points regularly since the new year.

“It’s a good opportunity and we owe it to our fans because they deserve top marks for their performances this season,” the coach said at a media conference on Saturday.

“We put in another decent display at Juventus but were undone by a combination of fine details and mistakes – and not only our own. However, I don’t want to waste energy on things I can’t change. We have to focus purely on ourselves.

“Verona have done very well since the break. They’re compact, well drilled and they play direct football. They’ve had some great results of late and of course are still hoping to beat the drop. It doesn’t change anything for us: we have to focus on ourselves and do better, especially at home. We need to throw off the shackles and change our attitude: we must be bolder. more daring, more clinical. I don’t see any tension when we play in front of our fans. The crowd is with us and we have to leverage that.”

The boss also commented on the news that Emil Audero will require a shoulder operation, putting him out of action for the foreseeable future.

“Audero needing surgery was the worst news we could have had. I’m so sorry because he’s an absolutely smashing lad. I hope he comes back even stronger because he’s shown his loyalty to the club and to his team-mates.

“We brought Turk in as our back-up keeper and we have faith in him. He hadn’t played for four or five months and was a bit nervous making his debut at a big stadium against a great team last week. I’m sure he’ll get better and better.”