Andrea Sottil shared his views with the media on Saturday, the day before Udinese host Fiorentina in Serie A Week 5.
The coach opened his press conference with a thought for Enzo Ebosse, who underwent ACL surgery in midweek.
“We're not very lucky with injuries. I'm gutted for Enzo, suffering this setback after months of hard work to return to fitness. It's really bad luck. Everything that could have been done was. He was perfectly ready and had been training at high intensity for a month. We're all beside him. I wrote to him telling him not to give up.”
There was better news regarding Christian Kabasele.
“He could return for the Napoli game and if not against Genoa for sure,” Sottil explained.
He then offered his take on tomorrow's opposition.
“Fiorentina are an excellent team which has been further strengthened – they basically have two teams. They get lots of men forward and constantly swap positions but obviously when you do that you leave space. We have to stick to our game plan and ask questions of them, manoeuvring the ball in a way that can hurt them.”
Despite a shortage of goals in the first few games, Sottil's confidence in his side's ability to score remains unwavered.
“I'd be worried if we hadn't been creating opportunities and weren't shooting on goal but we are. Against Cagliari it wasn't just [Lorenzo] Lucca's shot. [Florian] Thauvin had two chances in the first half.
“We need to do better from set-pieces. We're often first to the ball from corners but we lack precision. We have players who are very good in the air who can score goals and win matches for us.”
The manager also offered an insight into his team selection.
“I have the starting line-up in mind although I have a couple of doubts after what I've seen this week.
“[Roberto] Pereyra hasn't trained with the team for three months and it takes time to get back up to 100%. He can certainly play for longer than he did against Cagliari but he hasn't got 90 minutes in him yet. It's not easy getting players' fitness up during the season but we're getting there. In two or three weeks' time he could be ready to start.”
Pereyra's compatriot Martin Payero is ready, however, and Sottil was keen to praise him.
“He's an important player. He's in good shape and I consider him a starter. He can play anywhere in midfield.
“Etienne Camara and [Domingos] Quina need a bit more time to adapt to Serie A.
“[Isaac] Success is much better but we have to manage him carefully. He's ready to do his bit over the next week."
The coach also revealed the conversation he had with Sandi Lovric after the game against Cagliari, in which the midfielder struggled to make an impact.
“I went over to him and asked him if he'd had to miss the game through suspension. He laughed and didn't get offended at all. He's incredibly humble and he knows what he needs to do to improve. He always gives so much in training. He's an important player for us and I know he'll start scoring again."
Finally, the boss discussed the prospect of playing at Udinese Arena again.
“This is our home and it must be a positive environment, as it always has been. I want to see a real Udinese performance, without being obsessed about the result. Playing with fear doesn't help at all in football – quite the opposite. I hope our fans can drive us on to obtain a great result.”