Kosta Runjaic sat down with journalists during the club's Media Day to take stock of the first few weeks of pre-season and look ahead to the coming campaign.
“Welcome to Lienz everybody,” the coach began. “I'm very happy to be here for the third season running. Every year we start from scratch and we know we need to secure our top-flight status as quickly as possible. After that, we can look to build further. Every season we have to start over and work hard putting all our energy onto the pitch.
“Our focus at the moment has to be on our performances and our daily work, without talking too much. Right now we have to prepare as best we can to start the season well.
“We're reaching the end of our fourth week of pre-season training and the lads have shown an excellent mentality and work ethic. We're training with real intensity but there's time for recovery and team-building too, which is essential to forge a strong bond and go into the new campaign with the right energy.
“We still have a lot to do. It's important to give the players the right feedback and use these friendly games to try out what we're putting together in training. At the moment the result is not a priority – I want to see what we're doing on the training ground being put into practice. Winning always helps from a mental perspective but our goal is to be ready come the start of the season.”
The coach also explained the plan for the two weekend friendlies, against Mainz and Trabzonspor.
“The idea is to give every player at least 60 minutes over the next two games. If someone is not up to it, we'll replace them because at this stage we want to be careful not to pick up any injuries.”
Runjaic then spoke about the new signings, and Unai Gomez and Mergim Vojvoda in particular.
“Gomez is a perfect fit for our squad. He plays with passion and intensity. I think he can express his full potential here at Udinese.
“Vojvoda is experienced and knows Serie A very well. He's a leader and a quality player, but like everyone else he'll need a bit of time to adapt to his new team-mates and our playing style."
The coach also said a few words about Nicolo Zaniolo.
“This is our third season and we need to keep building. Individual quality comes to the fore when the whole team performs at a high level. [Florian] Thauvin and [Arthur] Atta improved thanks to the work of the team and we're trying to do the same with Zaniolo.
"He's inherited the number 10 shirt and has an important role for the team. He's trained really well so far – he's not afraid of hard work. He's coming off the back of a good season in terms of goals and assists and his value is increasing again.
“We support him every day. He's working with intensity and can't wait for the season to start so that he can repay the faith, the love and the respect shown him by the club and the fans. Wearing the No.10 shirt comes with responsibility but I'm sure he can be a role model both in training and in matches. I expect a lot from him and I'm optimistic about what he can give us during the season.”