Hellas Verona coach Andrea Mandorlini sounded cautiously optimistic about his side’s Serie A chances following their 2-1 victory over Turkish side Torku Konyaspor.
The 53-year-old tactician was upbeat after his side’s fifth friendly ahead of Verona’s return to Serie A for the 2012-13 season and appears to be satisfied with his squad and their attitude.
“We are preparing well,” said Mandorlini to the club’s official website.
“I saw good things and we are improving from game to game.
“We’re still trying different schemes and [Luca] Toni and [Daniele] Cacia played together.
“But as I always say, the tactics are only of relative importance; what really matters now is the desire of the players to train hard and learn new things.”
Mandorlini sounded less pleased when questioned on his side’s defence.
“We have to be more solid in certain situations but these friendlies are useful for helping us improve on this.”
The 53-year-old also commented on two of the Gialloblu’s summer signings, suggesting he is happy with their arrivals but does not believe that will be integral members of the squad straight away.
“[Jacopo] Sala? He’s young and talented, he still has a lot to learn and he is very willing to do it.
“[Massimo] Donati? He’s versatile, he can play in different positions.
“We’ll evaluate every match where to play him but he certainly will be useful.”
