“We have started out with a great deal of enthusiasm and the way the fans have greeted us showed the hunger this public has,” explained the Coach.

“Thanks to the work over the past few years, we have closed up on the top dogs in Serie A. We have to continue along that road and the most important matches of the season – the preliminary round.

“I hope we will immediately see the same spirit as in previous years with the new faces learning from the veterans.”

The Viola had technically qualified for the Champions League for the past three seasons, but missed out due to the Calciopoli scandal penalties.

“Potentially we are a great squad, now we have to prove it. We have the desire and with a bit of healthy arrogance we can do it. The closer we get to the preliminary round, the more sleepless nights we’ll have,” continued Prandelli.

“These are important weeks to test things out and figure out how the elements fit together. We have used a certain system for the past two seasons, but I’d like to try out something new.”

Alberto Gilardino got off to a strong start by scoring a brace in his debut training ground match at Castelrotto.

The former Milan man also provided the assist for the third goal bagged by Franco Semioli.