Parma vs Lecce preview - De Canio urges players to focus

Posted Wednesday, February 02, 2011 by PA

Lecce coach Luigi De Canio has blamed poor concentration for his team's draw against Cesena at the weekend but he expects his players to bounce back at Parma.

The side from Puglia missed a chance to go four points clear of third-bottom Cesena when they allowed their opponents to score an injury-time equaliser for a 1-1 draw.

The outcome marked Lecce's third straight draw and left them just one place and one point clear of the bottom three after 22 games played.

"The team has probably let its guard down slightly," De Canio said.

"It's a real pity because we had chances in the first half to put the game beyond our rivals' reach.

"A win would have been a huge morale boost in our battle against the drop. We should have defended better in the last stages of the game.

"Now we must look ahead to another battle at Parma on Wednesday."

De Canio will be hoping his troops regain their focus on defence, with Lecce having failed to keep a clean sheet since beating Catania 1-0 on October 3.

Parma, meanwhile, have won just one of their last four Serie A matches.

Last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Genoa dropped the Ducale outfit to 15th place, four points clear of Lecce.

The Gialloblu have bolstered their attacking line with the arrival of Brazil-born forward Amauri on Monday on loan from Juventus until the end of the season.

"We are extremely happy," Parma general director Pietro Leonardi said.

"We have brought a very important player to Parma. I believe Amauri will give a huge contribution to the team. Our club and our fans deserved this gift."

Parma fans will have to wait to see Amauri make his debut in the team colours.

Parma coach Pasquale Marino is set to play with Sebastian Giovinco and Hernan Crespo in attack against Lecce at the Stadio Ennio Tardini.

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