Sarri: "The Players Are Working Hard, Although They Still Don't Fully Understand My Thoughts"

Maurizio Sarri admits that Lazio's players have not yet fully adjusted to his system and have not fully understood his thinking ahead of the match against Cagliari which will take place on Sunday (19/09) evening CEST.  The 62-year-old coach predicts his team will have a tough match in Walter Mazzari's debut match.

Lazio picked up two wins in their opener by scoring a few goals but failed to score and was punished against Milan and Galatasaray.  Meanwhile, Cagliari will make his debut with new coach Walter Mazzari after sacking Leonardo Semplici for only being able to pick up one point from three matches played in Serie A.

"It will be a tough match because Cagliari is a better team compared to the results they have achieved before," Sarri said at a press conference as quoted by Football-Italia.

"Because they have changed coaches, there will also be an emotional reaction from the team, so we can't expect the game to be easy.  We lost to Galatasaray due to a technical error, both to our goalkeeper and our striker who had chances to score, we were better than Galatasaray in the first 20 minutes and showed good character.

The former Napoli, Juventus, and Chelsea coach insists Lazio are not far behind in the schedule and are still struggling with a formation change from the previous 3-5-2 under Simone Inzaghi to the current 4-3-3.

"We have some full-backs who are more suited to playing as a fifth in midfield and we changed them to full-back positions.  We also have midfielders who are used to working with one striker and one supporter.  We asked for something different this time, our midfielders are dynamic, but it's more a mental issue than a physical one.

"People think that playing with high pressure requires a lot of physical strength, but if the pressure is done well the team can still be closer together and that means you will run less.

"I have seen tremendous progress, we have to continue on this journey because things change and we will slowly adapt to a new way of thinking.  The players are working hard, although they still don't fully understand my thoughts."

"I need the support of the club at the moment."

The coach will serve a two-match suspension due to the red card he received in last weekend's game against Milan.  He has appealed against his sentence and is taking legal action for being accused of using blasphemous sentences and behaving aggressively.