Luca Ranieri held a press conference after Fiorentina drew with Parma 0-0.

As a captain, what should this self-analysis lead to?

“We’re not the Fiorentina of the past few years. That’s apparent. We’re a team that needs to fight to avoid relegation. We’re disappointed because we really wanted to secure a win, which would’ve been good for everyone, meaning the team and the club. We only earned one point today, but it’s still a valuable point for the standings. Now all our games will be like this, difficult and scrappy. Parma won against Bologna and Milan. We should’ve put up a better performance, but we’ll take the draw and prepare as best we can for our next games.”

Would you say that this has been a step back for the team after your recent improvements?

“We played three excellent games against Como, Pisa and Jagiellonia. Then we had two setbacks: a very bad one against Udinese, and we can’t have such performances, especially right now, and today’s match. The silver lining is that we didn’t concede any goals or even a shot on target. On the other hand, we too did very little. It’s a shame, but we must keep working hard. We still have 10 games to play. We mustn’t give up now. We must keep improving, avoid relegation. That’s our goal for this season and we’ll keep pushing."

Do you think that your match on Monday against Cremonese will be one of the most important for Fiorentina this season? Or the most important period.

“Our game against Cremonese is crucial because we’re up against a team that is just one point behind us. We must do everything we can to win.”

What’s the mistake that you must avoid at all costs?

“The mistake we must not make is to give up. We’re all very united. Of course, arguments between team-mates are normal, they happen in all teams. But I can assure you that we’re all very united to secure survival.”