Ranocchia: “Train hard and give our all”

PARMA – Nerazzurri skipper Andrea Ranocchia stepped up to the cameras following the match against Parma at the Stadio Tardini.

He said: “Conceding in the opening minutes made it tougher for us. We were on top for long spells but couldn’t find the breakthrough. They battened down the hatches and we couldn’t find a way through. When you concede a goal everyone’s to blame. We came into this on the back of three positive displays. It’s a shame because we could have closed the gap on those ahead of us.”

In any case the squad is focused on the next obstacle, which comes in the shape of the Europa League on Thursday. “We’ll concentrate on Saint-Etienne now and try to get the points needed to sew up qualification to the next round. We’re short on numbers but hopefully we’ll be able to get a few people fit again. We’ll try to work even harder in training and as always we’ll give it everything we’ve got.”

Finally, Ranocchia commented on the whistles directed at the team: “It’s character-building. Obviously it’s easier to play to the sound of applause but sometimes the whistles help you to react.”

 

 

]]>