ANCELOTTI DEMANDS IMPROVED ATTITUDE
After a disappointing result away to Sampdoria on Sunday, Carlo Ancelotti lamented another slow start from his players.
"We gifted them the first half and this time we weren’t able to come back," he said. "We saw the same issue that arose in the first two matches of the season. We didn’t have the right approach and that affected our play. We need a change of attitude and mentality. Six goals in three games – that’s a lot to concede. We clearly need to make sure we’re really at it in the first part of the game. There’s not much to change from a tactical perspective, but we need to improve mentally".
"Samp played well and, particularly in the first half, they didn’t allow us to settle on the ball. We were often slow to the ball and in those cases it doesn’t matter if the defence sits deep or pushes high. We needed to put more pressure on their ball-carriers and be quicker. We were too slow and they made the most of that."
As for the decision to leave out Jose Callejon and Marek Hamsik, the coach said: "This is not in any way an issue of players or selections. The problem is the general attitude and I must work to change that. If I had a magic wand I’d get the team to play the first half in the way they began the second. We need to make sure we show intensity from the very start. Even the best teams will struggle to show how good they are without intensity."
(Photo Getty Images)
