Alessandro Zanoli was this week's guest on Udinese Tonight, two days after the excellent win against Atalanta in which he himself impressed.
Straight off the bat, the 25-year-old was asked if Udinese can maintain their current average of 1.5 points per match – meaning they would finish the season with 57 points.
“57 points are possible but we have to focus on one game at a time, starting with Roma. It's going to be tough against the team that's second in the league. We'll need to keep cool heads and try to get the three points at a difficult ground.”
Udinese will head to the capital buoyed by their solid display against Atalanta.
“We prepared well for the game. We knew they played man for man and we pressed them high and closed them down well. We performed really well. We played our game and didn't drop back, as we did on some other occasions when we ran more risks.
“I'm happy with my own performance but of course you can always do better. I did well defensively but lacked a bit of quality going forward. Perhaps I lost a bit of composure because I ran a lot, but that comes with the position I play in. In my previous games I'd have said I needed to do better defensively, but I'm quite happy with that now. If I can just put the two things together, it'll be perfect!”
Zanoli joined Udinese in the summer after a long series of loans, which he admits were starting to take their toll.
“Going out on loan all the time is tough mentally. The first one was at Sampdoria and I had a decent six months there. There was quite a lot of interest in me after that by Napoli decided to keep me. I hardly played at all for six months after that, then I spent six months at Salernitana, which were so so. The following year I was sent to Genoa, who kept me for the whole season and where I worked well with [Patrick] Vieira.
“This summer the opportunity arose to join a club that had been interested in me for several years and I seized the chance. Udinese produces lots of talented players and has a great history. I said yes straight away. My pre-season with Napoli felt like I was leaving a week later and I only played in the first two or three friendlies. I wasn't up to match speed but I'm getting there now because I'm playing regularly. I'm grateful to the coach for the chances he's giving me. The more I play, the more confidence it gives me. I learnt a lot from [Antonio] Conte. His methods are very demanding – he killed us in the summer – but I'm reaping the benefits now. I feel good physically, especially in terms of my stamina.”
Zanoli also revealed that his Friulian friend Alex Meret encouraged him to make the move to the north-east.
“Alex nudged me in the direction of Udine. He spoke about the city and the club in glowing terms, saying it was the perfect environment where you can be at ease and work well.”