#VeronaLecco | Mister Marco Baroni's Words

Villafranca di Verona – Head Coach Marco Baroni spoke to the media after Hellas Verona-Lecco, the Gialloblù's fourth pre-season friendly.

Sezonienko has just arrived. What are your first impressions of him? "Because of the language and the cultural differences, he'll need a bit of time to settle in. But we believe he's a player with good physical attributes and an eye for goal. We'll integrate him gradually, without expecting too much from him straight away. I'm convinced he'll be able to help us."

Today the team looked quicker and more dynamic than in the previous friendlies. Is this the direction you want to take? "Yes, we want to be quicker in many aspects of the game. We want to play dominant, proactive football. To do that, you need composure but, above all, tempo. Otherwise, opponents get back into shape, sit deep and create congestion. I'm pleased with what I saw today. Of course we'll face difficulties, but we have the strength and belief to deal with them. This is the path we're on, and we're not going back."

Your thoughts on Kastanos? "Kastanos is a player with quality, and I want quality players because we want to play quality football. If people tell me he sometimes struggles when he doesn't start, my answer is that nobody is guaranteed a place in the team. If he keeps the right mentality and puts the team first, he'll get his opportunities. Everyone here has to think as part of the team. If you only think about yourself, you won't get far. We have to play and think as a team, putting our teammates before ourselves. It's not easy because people naturally tend to be selfish, but I'm convinced we'll get there."

Have the changes also been tactical? Today we saw a different system rather than the usual two-man midfield. "We're assessing different solutions. I want a lot of mobility and players moving out of their natural positions. In my opinion, positional football in the traditional sense is easier to neutralise nowadays. That's why we ask the players to keep moving, especially when they're not in possession."

What did you make of the new signings? Mulattieri made an immediate impact, Compagnon was involved throughout and Livramento settled in well after returning from international duty. "They've only had a handful of training sessions with us. Livramento, for example, has only been working with the squad for a week. It was important to give them minutes. We also had a video session today because we're working hard in every aspect of our preparation—we simply don't have time. We have to speed things up and make the most of every opportunity we have, including matches like this. Despite the heat and a pitch that wasn't in the best condition, I asked the players to put in a big effort and try to reproduce what we've been working on in training. As I keep saying, tomorrow it's already the league, it's already the Coppa Italia. These are matches that matter and time is short. We have to catch up with time, not wait for it."

How are the absent players doing? Isaac and Calabrese were unavailable today. "As for Isaac, when a coach arrives in a new environment and gets to know new players, he tries to make as few mistakes as possible, but he still has to make decisions. Today I wanted to reward Vermesan because I think he's a very interesting player. I would also have liked to give minutes to Akale and De Battisti, but it's impossible to play everyone. At the same time, we're trying to find solutions for these players so they can go somewhere and play regularly. My goal is to build a squad with 22 or 23 players capable of starting. Calabrese isn't here because he picked up a minor injury during pre-season. At this stage the workload is heavy, so we're being cautious because we don't want him to be sidelined for any longer than necessary."

On the transfer market: midfield seems to be the area where Verona may still need reinforcements. "When it comes to the transfer market, I want to be clear. The club knows my technical project perfectly, just as I know the club's project, including its financial aspects. I have complete trust in Sogliano. We spend almost the whole day together and work side by side on the training ground. As I've already said, he's my guarantee."

You spoke about having a squad with 22 or 23 starters. What is the ideal squad size and in which areas do you think you still need to strengthen? "As you've said, we'll certainly need to do something, especially in midfield. We're evaluating our options. It won't be easy, but we'll see what happens."