Andrea Sottil admitted that he was satisfied with the performance but not the result after Udinese were held to a 1-1 draw by Lecce.
“We deserved to win today – just look at the performance, what happened on the pitch and the chances we had,” he began after the Monday night match at Bluenergy Stadium.
“Lecce punished us with the only clear-cut chance they had but we kept fighting till the end.
“I'm sorry for the lads because they deserved to win and for the fans who get behind us. There are no easy games and we'll keep dealing with them one at a time. We must stick together, keep playing and improving. Hopefully we can get a few of the injured players back too.
“I liked the spirit we had today but we weren't able to kill the game off. We went out in the second half much more determined and got the goal. It's a real shame because we deserved more than a draw. We must keep calm and clear-headed and focus on the next one now.”
The coach then explained his decision to start with Isaac Success.
“He's trained exceptionally well over the last two weeks. [Lorenzo] Lucca looked a little jaded after Empoli. Success is a starter in my book. He had three chances and worked incredibly hard for the team. I'm happy with him.”
The boss went on to praise Roberto Pereyra.
“You all know what he's like – he's a top player. He's a pillar of this team and he was brought back because we need big players in the middle. Obviously he's a little bit behind with his fitness having joined us three months late but he's getting close to peak form.”
Sottil then provided an update on the Udinese treatment room.
“We're without [Gerard] Deulofeu, [Keinan] Davis and [Vivaldo] Semedo up front. The only one I hope to have back soon is Davis, but then you have to factor in that he hasn't played since April and he joined us on deadline day so when he is available he won't have 90 minutes in him.
“Brenner will be out for a few months yet.
“[Adam] Masina had a nasty injury too so we need to be patient.”