Udinese vs Sampdoria preview - Garrone in plea to fans

Posted Saturday, February 05, 2011 by PA

Sampdoria president Riccardo Garrone has urged the fans to get behind the struggling team ahead of the match at Udinese.

Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Cagliari was Samp's third consecutive defeat and dropped the Grifoni to 12th in the standings.

Samp have won just once in their last seven Serie A games and not scored in their last four.

Their poor run of form has left coach Domenico Di Carlo feeling the heat ahead of this weekend's match.

A section of the fans booed their team in midweek and there were calls for Di Carlo to be sacked.

The supporters have grown increasingly frustrated after seeing the club sell top scorer Giampaolo Pazzini to Inter Milan last week, having previously lost Antonio Cassano to AC Milan.

Garrone said: "We have an excellent group of professionals and they have my complete trust.

"I ask the fans to continue to show the support that only they can give to help the team."

Udinese will look to pile on more misery for Samp with the Bianconeri unbeaten in 2011.

The Friuli outfit have collected 10 points out of a possible 12.

Moreover, they have not lost at home since September 19 while Samp remain winless on their travels since late November.

Francesco Guidolin's men, who beat Inter and Juventus last month, drew 1-1 against Bologna on Wednesday to join sixth-place Palermo on 37 points.

The Bianconeri lie four points behind Inter, who hold the last Champions League qualifying spot.

"We believe we can qualify for Europe," said Udinese defender Pablo Armero. "If we win on Saturday, we can take another step towards the Champions League qualifying spots."