Kosta Runjaic held a press conference on Thursday ahead of Udinese's visit to Genoa. This is what the boss had to say:
“[Florian] Thauvin won't be available tomorrow. We won games without him earlier this season and our victories don't depend on him playing. Obviously we'll miss his quality and his experience. He's given us a lot this season, both as a player and as captain, but I don't want to say our wins depend on him."
Asked if Udinese struggle to get their approach right against the big teams, Runjaic replied: “I don't like to generalise. Every match is different. Regardless of who we're playing, we need to play at our usual tempo from the start, win duels and above all not give the ball away, which is something that happened all too often in the first half against Inter. That's why we weren't able to get into our stride. Then on the goals we didn't defend well. Football is a simple game: two situations where you're not fully concentrated, you're not compact, maybe you make an error of judgement and big teams take advantage. Against other teams we might not have conceded but against Inter it was inevitable. In the first half we didn't play the way we should have if we wanted to leave San Siro with something, but we had spells of good play. I like to look at the positives as well. We've been working on the things that don't work well since the start of the season.
“We always set out to win. We've laid some good foundations but the season is not over yet and we haven't given everything we have to give. We're working well. Results don't depend on individuals but on the entire team and us giving 100% from the first minute to the last. If we do that, we can give anyone a game.
“We know what to expect tomorrow and we must build on the end of the Inter game – the energy and passion we were playing with then. We know we'll be heading into a cauldron of a stadium with an incredible atmosphere. [Patrick] Vieira has already said they want to play bold, attacking football and that they haven't yet reached their target. They're a good team. We must have the same approach and put everything into it for the whole game.
“We're constantly looking for new solutions. We do a lot of work and we're always looking for ways to fix things – team play doesn't come about by chance.
“I don't what [Rui] Modesto's level should be, or for any player who plays in that position. I know he's improved over the months. He's a calm lad who gets on with his work and we're seeing progress from him, which is good. It's good when you see your players are improving. Modesto has improved but he hasn't played a lot. We might see more of him over the coming games.
“[Keinan] Davis has had a minor problem and he won't be available. We'll also be without Thauvin, [Alexis] Sanchez and [Jordan] Zemura, who didn't come back from international duty in top shape. We're missing players but it's an opportunity for people who have played less so far, like [Iker] Bravo and others. The main thing is we show up on the pitch. The lads work hard in training every day and I expect them to prove their worth.
“I wasn't pleased with the performance of some players. We didn't do what we needed. [Martin] Payero is experienced, a fine player, a quality player when he performs well, but he hasn't always done that. It's important for him to find the right tempo. We're working with him and he hasn't always been able to train. He's produced some good performances recently but what's in the past is in the past. What matters is tomorrow's game. We'll need the right attitude and I expect both the starters and the substitutes to give their all.
“[Thomas] Kristensen had a good spell but he's also had some less good spells. These are the challenges mid-table teams like us have to face. We have players like him with huge potential and the goal is to help them produce consistently.
“We have the points we have and we have to give our all in these last eight games and see where we finish. I think we can do a lot better. We could even finish the season without losing any more games. I want to see that attitude from the team. We're safe so we can play with no pressure but we must keep giving our all. I'm not happy with the last two results.
“[Sandi] Lovric is a very important player for us. He's played a lot and produced some excellent performances. He didn't have a good first half against Inter. I expect players like him with Serie A experience to take responsibility and show up on the pitch – but it's not only him. [Arthur] Atta hasn't been here long and he's still adapting to the league. We don't have many others like Lovric and I expect more from players like him and [Jesper] Karlstrom in games where you need experience and leadership. [Jaka] Bijol is another of those players but he's doing well with [Oumar] Solet. I've spoken to these players and I expect more from them.
“Even if we had everyone available Genoa would be very difficult, especially at home. They're full of energy and play attacking football. They have a clear way of playing and under Vieira they try to play the ball. We're going to have to deal with the atmosphere and play with the same aggression they have while trying to keep the ball and play it forward. We lost the reverse fixture – we know how, with that red card at the start – and we lost despite having a lot of possession. Tomorrow we need to strike the right balance and pick up from where we left off against Inter.
“These last eight games are very important to me. We can play without any great pressure but we need to motivate ourselves. I'd like to reach 50 points and to do so we need to win some of these games – eight draws won't be enough. I'm the one with the most responsibility so I have to take note of my players' attitude. This should be the stage of the season where everyone can show their best side. We'll focus on preparing games and play with the right passion. I can't wait for this game. If we play the way we're able to, it will go well. It's important to show up in both halves. We know how we want to play and we'll see if we can do it. I consider this a very important match. We're not on standby. I want to see how much potential we still have. We have opponents on the pitch too but first and foremost we have to think about ourselves.
“[Oumar] Solet is without doubt one of the best defenders I've ever coached. He's a complete player but we knew how good he was, otherwise he wouldn't have played on the international stage. He had an injury at Salzburg which held him back a bit, otherwise he may never have come to Udine because he would already be at a top club. He's worked exceptionally well here from day one. He always wants to win and I hope he can continue like this and get even better. The goal we conceded against Verona originated from a mistake he made, so there's always room for improvement. He's a top-class player. If he shows what he's capable of and takes another step up, it will only be a matter of time before he's snapped up by a big club.”