Cristian previews Pompey: "We respect this trophy and we respect this team"
Cristian Stellini says mentality is key ahead of our FA Cup third round clash against Portsmouth on Saturday (12.30pm), and illustrated the point by using the experiences of his own playing career in Italy.
Antonio Conte's assistant had spells in Serie C2, C1 and Serie B before reaching Italy's top flight, Serie A, with Como in 2002. He later played briefly for Juventus before ending his career at Genoa.
Speaking ahead of the tie at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Cristian, Antonio Conte's assistant, explained that he knew exactly how Pompey's players would feel coming into the tie in N17.
"First of all, I want to say that the FA Cup is a dream for us, for me," he said. "When I was a player I was not every time in the top league, so my dream was to see the FA Cup because it gave the possibility for a lower team to challenge and to win a trophy, a top trophy.
"In Italy we don't have a chance to do it and I didn't when I was a player, so it's a dream to me to learn from this type of situation in England.
"When I was a player, sometimes I had this possibility (to play a bigger team) and I know the desire of this type of team, Portsmouth tomorrow, Morecambe last season (we won 3-1 in the third round at home after trailing 1-0), and how important it is for them to play this type of match.
"So, we have to respect this and show our desire. For that reason, the FA Cup is an important trophy to try to win. We spoke about this a lot of times and every time we have to show our respect in the game.
"We've prepared this match like every other match. This is what the FA Cup is all about, playing a team from League One, they arrive with 9,000 fans, it's so exciting to play this type of match and we have to respect, for sure, the FA Cup, and a big team from League One like Portsmouth. We respect this trophy, and we respect this team."