Vincenzo Montella has called for Fiorentina to put the last two bad results behind them and show a reaction when Lecce visit the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence on Saturday night.
“We’ve had two very poor performances after a good month and a half in which we’d put in some excellent showings, so this is the first really difficult period we’ve had,” he said, speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday. “It’s in these times that you really see the coach, the club – which has been very present – and the standard of the players. We need to produce a big reaction in terms of our character and also as regards the standard of our performance, which comes as a result of that.”
Montella urged his side to be alert to the threat posed by Lecce on the road, but stressed that the Viola must make their quality felt on Saturday.
“Lecce have picked up eight of their 11 points away from home,” he said. “They’re brimming with enthusiasm and have some good individual players, but we need to show that we’re better them in every respect when we get out on the pitch.”
Montella also spoke warmly Fabio Liverani, who masterminded Lecce’s back-to-back promotions in the last two seasons.
“I have a lot of respect for Liverani – he’s a friend,” he said. “His team have an identity, they always try to play football, he’s taken them from Serie C to Serie A in two years… He’s doing a great job. We need to patient. It will be a tough match and there will be tension as it goes on. We can’t let this period affect us – even though it’s just two games, not two months.”
Montella went on to praise Fiorentina president Rocco Commisso after the unveiling of the plans for the club’s new training ground on Thursday.
“Congratulations to the president because he’s managed to do something that seemed impossible up until recently, not just in Florence but in Italian football in general,” he said. “He’s come from another part of the world and been able to win people’s hearts and invest. I take my hat off to him. We’re delighted with it.”
Published: Fri, 29 Nov 2019 17:52:00 +0100
Source: Fiorentina Official website en.violachannel.tv