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Kosta Runjaić’s press conference, coach of Udinese, ahead of the Monza match. Main topic: injuries to Okoye and Davis.

Udinese’s coach Kosta Runjaić spoke at a press conference ahead of the next league match, which will see the Friulian team face Monza on Monday, December 9th at 8:45 PM. Despite their good position in the standings, the Bianconeri have only earned one point in the last 5 matches: a change of pace is necessary.

Udinese, Runjaić’s words at the press conference

Runjaić starts by talking about the two new injured players.

Regarding Okoye

“It’s never good when you lose two important players during the week. On a human level, I’m sorry for them. For Okoye, it’s his first season as a regular starter and up to now he had offered very good performances. But it’s part of the game, there’s always a degree of risk. We have Sava and Padelli to replace him, I’m optimistic that they can fill in for him effectively“.

About Davis

“At the end of training, he felt a muscle discomfort, it can happen, I’m optimistic about his recovery, I think he can return fairly quickly but there’s never certainty about recovery times. We’ll have to wait one, two, three weeks to have him available again, but we’ll work to have him back as soon as possible“

3 at the back or 4?

“We have options in our team, players who train well. When things don’t go as planned, we need to analyze the situation clearly, observe how the players train. We won’t change our direction, we’ll replace the goalkeeper and we have options for the attacking department. On the formation, I can’t reveal how we’ll play against Monza, it’s an advantage to be able to apply both systems of play“

Florian Thauvin ( PHOTO BY SALVATORE FORNELLI )

The opponent

“A tough match like all in Serie A, Monza is a good team, they have had many draws, lost several games narrowly. They defend well, have quality and pacey players, and one of the best in Europe on high balls. We’ll need to put the right energy on the field, we know it won’t be easy, we shouldn’t make it difficult like against Genoa. Finding points will be crucial, as it will be for Monza“

Some names in the starting 11

“Ebosse instead of Kamara? I’m the manager and I made this choice. Sava or Padelli? Sava will play barring any further unforeseen events. Ekkelenkamp or Zarraga? Everything is possible“

On the Christmas dinner as a group

“We wanted a positive result to make the evening even better, it was a great opportunity to get to know each other better, it was a great evening, it would have been better to have it after a victory, but it was good to participate in an evening all together, sometimes such evenings are beneficial“

On the future

“I don’t like to look too far ahead, we have a good foundation, a good mix of young and experienced players. We also need to consider the age of the players, at the beginning of the season no one would have said we could have a high position in the standings, then a more difficult moment came. We need to analyze the moments clearly, we have lost games, it’s true, but with performances from which to draw positive things. Then football is based on results, we want to replace Okoye and Davis as best as we can and earn points“

Isaak Touré in action ( PHOTO BY SALVATORE FORNELLI )

Kristensen’s condition

“He’s better, otherwise he wouldn’t have even been on the bench against Genoa. He has been training for two weeks now, he needs to regain his fitness, we don’t have all the defenders, but so far they have always performed well. Kristensen is adapting to the pace of the games“

On Touré’s mistake against Genoa

“It was avoidable, we played with 10 men the whole game, we conceded a goal right after the red card, it’s not easy, so not only I but also Inler, his teammates have talked to Touré, a young guy who is growing, we will help him grow. He knows he has to work hard, he has made mistakes that can happen, but if they happen to a defender, you often concede goals. Maybe he needed more time but had to play many games in a row, we need to look at what he has done well and work to ensure that everyone can improve“

These are the words of Udinese’s coach.