18 December 2024
18 December 2024

Runjaic: "Chance to shake things up a bit"

The coach speaks ahead of Inter v Udinese in the Coppa Italia

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Here’s what boss Kosta Runjaic had to say ahead of his side’s Coppa Italia fixture away at Inter.

"I'm trying to learn Italian. I've started studying it, it's a long process which is complicated by the fact that I’ve got time constraints. I'm at the stadium for 12 hours a day, then I also have to dedicate time to my family who are far away. The first and most important challenge for me is to improve the team more and more and consolidate it.

"Tomorrow we’ll have issues in midfield as [Oier] Zarraga, [Martin] Payero and [Sandi] Lovric will be absent. It’ll be a challenge but I’ll field the best team possible. There will be changes, we have several options, but it's not a given that I’ll rotate all positions. There's still time to decide.

"Tomorrow we won't radically change the line-up, that’s not our approach. However, it’ll be a chance to give some game time to players who’ve not seen a lot of action. We’ll field a back three.

"[Alexis] Sanchez? Tomorrow is his birthday. In theory he can start the game, but I still have to decide".

"It’s a tough process, but by trusting in the process and working hard the results will come. We know that we’ll encounter difficulties but we must continue to knuckle down."