Kosta Runjaic held a media conference on Saturday to discuss Udinese's next match, away to Torino on Easter Monday.
He began by discussing the shortage of options up front, before analysing the team's recent run of poor results.
“[Lorenzo] Lucca won't be available on Monday. We'll do our best to get him back as quickly as possible but we'll have to see how much time he needs.[Florian] Thauvin made some progress but then he felt a bit more discomfort so he's not available yet either. [Keinan] Davis has trained with the team, he's improved and he'll probably be with us. He won't start of course but it's good to have him on the bench. We're still without [Alexis] Sanchez and [Jordan] Zemura. Iker Bravo could play. [Damian] Pizarro is a good kid and I wouldn't rule out using him. We have to get the right balance and stability.
“We're not having our best spell of the season. We've lost four in a row and we're disappointed but we have the chance to make up for it with a good performance against Torino. We're both good teams and we have the same number of points.
“They strengthened in January, they play good football and they were unlucky to lose to Como. But we're on the same points. It's up to us to avoid mistakes. We must go out there and play with commitment, passion and energy and play as a team. If we don't make mistakes and we play the way we know we can, we'll have a good chance. It won't be easy – there are no easy games in Serie A – but it will be interesting. I prefer to focus on the here and now rather than the past – and that's what we've done this week. I know people look at the negatives more but I'm concentrating on what we need to do to win the next match. We have the chance to win in Turin and restore confidence. We must start with the basics: we can win if we play as a team. We're calm and convinced we can achieve our target. There's no easy solution, just hard work. We need to work tactically too. It's not easy with our injury problems but we have a chance.
“In the last few games we've come up short in the little details which could have turned the game in our favour. Perhaps we needed a bit more energy but a penalty decision or a fractional offside are small things that contributed to the defeats. I'm not saying everything has been good because we haven't taken our chances but we've been a little unlucky too. We're self-critical. We need to prove ourselves on the pitch. We also need to make our own luck through commitment with determination. We can win the match on Monday – it all depends on us.
“We talk about all possible situations on an individual and a team level. If we're talking about performances, the analysis varies from game to game. Against Verona, the goal we conceded wasn't down to the team's compactness; against Genoa we didn't make the most of our chances; against Milan we perhaps weren't compact but when you're trailing you throw caution to the wind to get back in the game.
“When I talk about decisive moments, I mean things like Lucca's chance when he missed from a few yards at 2-0 down to Milan – a goal then could have changed the game. We didn't score it and they made no mistakes. There are small details that turn out to be decisive and determine results. Then there are psychological factors. If you go into a match with the wrong mindset, you can make the wrong decisions.
“We're working on our defensive solidity but we've played attacking football all year, holding a high line and pressing opponents. Sometimes it's worked and other times it hasn't. Last year our possession against Milan was 30%. This year we had more possession than them but lost 4-0.
“You can look at the bad result but we're working on things and sometimes they might not work. And more than once we've been punished harshly. We need to find our balance and remember the things we've done well. We're working well but we need to show it on the pitch. We have to turn luck in our favour by playing with character.
“Injuries are part of life as a footballer. Thauvin has had a good season. He's scored goals and even in training he's an important figure. If a player gets injured, you can't do anything. Last week he was here two or three times a day working on his recovery but it wasn't possible to speed up the process. We hope to have him back soon so that he can help us again. We only have one Thauvin and it's different when we don't have him. I don't want this to be an excuse for us but we must be objective. Atalanta, for example, probably wouldn't be where they are without [Mateo] Retegui.
“I don't like losing. We've achieved our minimum target – which was staying up – and that's good. We've had a dip in results but we can still take some positives from this period. I don't know what your expectations for Udinese are in a season where there have been positives and negatives. You only get over the negatives through hard work. Even if we were to lose against Torino – which wouldn't be good, of course – we'd keep on working. Sometimes you lose in sport even when you're working well, and sometimes you win when you play less well.
“We've trained well this week. The team put in a lot of running against Milan and that alone tells you there's no lack of desire. If I could see the lads weren't running or weren't focused, I could say something is not working. I'm happy to accept criticism but I always want to protect the team. If I saw a lack of commitment, I'd say so, but that's not the case."