Siena vs Bologna preview - Cosmi turns attention to Bologna

Posted Thursday, September 27, 2012 by PA

Siena coach Serse Cosmi has told his side they will "start again from zero" when they play Bologna on Thursday night following their heroics against Inter Milan as they look to finally wipe out a points deduction.

The Robur made a giant leap towards eliminating their six-point penalty - meted out for their involvement in the summer's match-fixing scandal - with a shock victory over Inter at the San Siro on Sunday.

A draw would be enough to nudge Cosmi's men up to zero points and allow them to truly kickstart their Serie A campaign, while Stefano Pioli's Bologna plot to earn a second win of the season at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Cosmi told acsiena.it: "I've asked the lads to think only about the Bologna match, which will be totally different to the one in Milan.

"Of course, we won't be hypocritical and pretend it was just a run-of-the-mill win, but in football you always have to start again from zero and that's how it will be for us.

"I've read that the result was surprising based on the statistics. It seems like some people don't have the modesty to credit what we did at the San Siro.

"It was fair that it was (Simone) Vergassola who sealed such a historic victory, for everything he has done in a Siena shirt over recent years.

"And I have to thank the fans for the extraordinary show of affection that they gave to the team, waiting for us as we came home."

Turning his attention to Bologna, Cosmi added: "They're a tough opponent whose real strength lies with Pioli.

"He knows how to do his job well and he sends out highly-focused teams.

"They have a quality squad that can always be dangerous and it's important to understand that in order to approach the game in the right way."

The Rossoblu were denied a second consecutive victory after being held by struggling Pescara, and head coach Pioli knows exactly what went wrong.

He told bolognafc.it: "Having rewatched and analysed a lot of what happened against Pescara, we have to take more care, pay better attention and be more determined.

"The difficulties we've encountered on the pitch have not been down to tactics but are due to a lack of concentration.

"We need to maintain our team's identity as a purposeful and courageous one that keeps the opponent under wraps. And we need to maintain that across the entire 95 minutes.

"I have massive respect for Siena because they have shown a lot of quality, especially in attack, and they're fresh from a great match in Milan where they took all three points."