Italy Coach Demands Positive Attitude Against Estonia

Posted Friday, September 03, 2010 by Goal.com

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli is trying to encourage his squad to forget about previous failures.

Italy Coach Demands Positive Attitude Against Estonia
Cesare Prandelli - Italy

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli is trying to revive the embers of positive thinking as he embarks upon Euro 2012 qualification.

Prandelli is trying to win back fans and critics following la Nazionale's failure at the World Cup under Marcello Lippi.

So far the coach has enjoyed strong support, but now the real business begins and he hopes his side get on track from the outset.

"Attention and application has always been present, but my players need to show less respect in training in the sense that for their clubs the players are not scared to give their team-mates a briefing in training. Here this attitude is not present," he told the press.

"We have to crush negative thoughts. The idea of not having won a game all year can weigh heavily on the players.

"However, if we lose these two games then it would almost certainly be a disaster. But we cannot say that there are easy games, it's like this.

"The pitch is small [in Estonia] and they have at least four good players."

Antonio Cassano could start in Tallinn, and Prandelli has gone out on a limb, despite a back injury concern.

"He needs to feel the affection. Mentally he is 100 per cent ready, but physically we will evaluate him and see if he can last the 90 minutes," said the coach

"His position? He is best suited on the centre-left. We are trying to find a position that brings out his best qualities, such as his one-on-ones."