VIALLI also called upon fans to exercise a little patience, particularly after elements booed the team at half time on Saturday.

"Barnsley were not making it easy playing 4-5-1. We won the match in the end on Saturday. It was a great performance in the second half but people ask what about the first half? This is football, this is the way you have to be if you want to be successful.

"At Sheffield, we won but people were saying what about the first half, and although the goals were great the game was not.

"Lets not be too pickey. Be demanding, but not forget the reality," he said.

Watford are also one of the teams to beat, and Vialli notes the illogicality of this attitude, given their league position.

"We are one of the teams to beat even though we are middle of the table," he said. "I know some teams are desperate to beat us. We should be proud of that. It means a lot to people and even opponents are giving everthing to beat us.

"I thought we played reasonably well on Saturday, given the problems Barnsley gave us. I thought we played better than them in the first half, and then in the second half, we upped the tempo, and that is something we have learned and now we are more clinical."

While Saturday was not a war of attrition as was the case at Bramall Lane, Vialli is prepared for such games, and knows them of old from his time in Italy.

"You would come across teams, and they would play in a certain manner, doing the things they are good at.

"When Juventus play a smaller club, the opposition defend very solid, and they look to get a goal on the counter-attack. You have to handle them with care.

"We did that at Sheffield United last week. Our performance on Saturday was good. In a way, the two performances at Grimsby and Sheffield, even though they were totally different, were good.

"You have to adjust yourself to the situation and the circumstances, for we do not want to be predictable as I told you last week."

November 9, 2001 10:00