The Friulani were top of the table a few weeks ago, but plummeted after four straight defeats, including home losses to relegation strugglers Reggina and Chievo.

“Looking at our performances over the past month, the problems have never been on our travels, but rather at the Friuli,” mused the tactician.

“The other night the lads proved they wanted the victory and achieved it. This will allow us to approach the game with Atalanta in a much better position psychologically.”

On Wednesday evening Udinese defeated Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 on home turf to ensure their passage to the next round of the UEFA Cup.

Antonio Di Natale will be suspended for today’s Serie A meeting in Bergamo, while Andrea Coda, Damiano Ferronetti, Mauricio Isla and Gokhan Inler are sidelined.

“Atalanta are an aggressive side who are very organised and can boast quality with the likes of Cristiano Doni, Ferreira Pinto and Sergio Floccari.

“At home they are able to play their best football. We must be wary of the offside flag as they tend to keep the defence very high up the field, so to avoid that trap we need to be smart about the passing and diagonal runs, especially from the wingers.”