Samp not final test, says Ranieri

AS Roma coach Claudio Ranieri on Saturday denied that his club’s clash with Sampdoria on Sunday would be their last obstacle to winning the Serie A title.

Roma have four games remaining and the next one against Samp, on paper at least, appears to be the toughest.

The capital based club lead champions Inter Milan by one point with matches against mid-table Parma, Cagliari and Chievo also to come.

Samp are fourth and chasing Champions League football next season, plus they are on a run of three straight victories.

“Will the other games be given to us as presents? They’re all difficult, all of them, right up to the last minute against Chievo,” insisted Ranieri.

While Samp’s recent run, which has taken them two points clear of fifth-placed Palermo, has been very good, Roma have put together of long period of form, having not lost in 24 league games.

But they come into this match have gone down 1-0 at Udinese in midweek in the Coppa Italia semi-final, second leg, although they reached the final 2-1 on aggregate.

And Ranieri wants a reaction from his team.

“We always take off from the last match and hence the one we lost at Udinese, we want to react to Wednesday’s defeat,” he added.

Ranieri also believes this is a match between the two teams who have most surpassed expectations this season.

“We’re arriving here in good form, both us and Sampdoria. We’re the two real surprises in the championship,” he said.

“We’re first and they’re fourth, both teams are doing a great job.”