Avellino overcame Crotone at the Partenio-Lombardi stadium, won the last match of the championship and gained the position behind the league leaders, thus entering the second national phase of the playoffs. Mister Michele Pazienza made these statements at the final whistle: “Days of relaxation? Absolutely deserved, they worked very well until the end, reaching an important goal, which was not the one set at the beginning but is still a very precious result and which we it will give strength, energy and even some advantage for the playoffs. The crowd pushed us from the start, encouraged the boys. The desire of the fans and the team, even those who didn’t start from the start, was noticeable during the warm-up. The group pulled off an important performance and the victory was deserved, in the second half they created situations that could have broken the deadlock earlier, risking very little. I think the result is the right one, the team believed in it and fought until the end end. We have achieved this objective which will project us in the right way to the playoffs. Personal balance. Is it bad to speak on a personal level, I ask the boys to think with us. It’s clear that, when I arrived here, it was essential for me to approach it well, it was a challenge in such a hot and important place, used to wanting to win and also in categories different from the one we compete in now. I’m managing to keep in the right direction, thanks to an extraordinary work group: I’m referring to the ownership, the players, the management and my staff. I feel rewarded for all the hours we dedicate to our work. Now we find that energy to get to the end and reach the final goal, which is to win the playoff tournament. What will I ask the kids in these weeks? We have drawn up a program with the various hypotheses. With second place achieved, there is already a work program and friendlies to establish, but the days on which to do them have been defined. We will need to ask some teams for availability also based on the level of difficulty we will try to find. Now let’s disconnect and recover, the rest is deserved for everyone. We’ll see each other again on Wednesday to better prepare for this tournament.”
