Guidolin out to regain winning feeling

Francesco Guidolin will look to revive Udinese’s team spirit after a disappointing 4-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the Europa League.

Guidolin left out several key players for Thursday’s trip to Estadio Vicente Calderon, and his side was comprehensively beaten by their Spanish hosts.

Udinese drop to second place in Group I of the Europa League, level on points with leaders Atletico.

They are also second in Serie A following a strong start to the domestic season.

And Guidolin must now act quickly to prevent his team’s worst defeat of the season affecting their early promise.

“We know the group is open, just as it was before, but now we must focus on raising our morale after this heavy defeat,” Guidolin said.

“I know that young players need time and they learn by making mistakes. Perhaps we made a few too many tonight and a great team like Atletico punished us for them.”

“However, these are things players have to go through, as we need this experience to grow. Our project involves growing youngsters and I was always aware there was the risk of this inexperience leading to an embarrassing defeat.”

Veteran captain Antonio Natale was rested with muscle soreness, while midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah and defender Mauricio Isla were among other first-team regulars to sit out the Atletico clash.

Guidolin defended his decision to leave out the key men, preferring to take a long-term view of the campaign ahead.

“I take full responsibility for what happened, but if I squeeze the same 10-11 players dry without putting my faith in the rest of the squad, then I don’t think we can stay at a certain level over time,” he said.

“We have many internationals in the side, so it’s very difficult to play the same lads in every fixture.”

“Now the group is closing up and clearly I could rotate the squad less in the remaining two matches.”

“We cannot afford to step on to the field with arrogance, but I think it was more timidity than arrogance tonight. We have to compliment Atletico Madrid, even if we gave them a helping hand.”