Two defeats in two games is hardly the positive start Sampdoria were hoping for but Massimo Donati remains upbeat.

“I’m disappointed with how we conceded the goals,” he said after the Blucerchiati slumped to a 3-1 defeat away at Sudtirol ahead of the international break.

“Tactically, I didn’t see any major issues. We have to reset and start over right away, because there’s no other option.

“The disappointment from this defeat will last a couple of days but then we’ll get back to work. We have to be more clinical in front of goal, we gave up some ridiculous goals.”

Donati’s optimism is admirable, but it may not last long. And unless results improve drastically, starting with Cesena’s visit to Marassi on Saturday evening, neither will he.

The former Celtic midfielder’s glass has been half-full, but platitudes and a positive attitude can only make up for results for so long, and even more so following last season’s historically dismal showing.

Initially relegated to Serie C for the first time in their 79-year history, Sampdoria pulled off one of Serie B’s great escapes as they beat Salernitana in a relegation play-off after being handed an unexpected lifeline courtesy of Brescia’s points deduction.

A season of consolidation was the objective, but defeats at home by Modena on the opening day of the campaign before the loss in Bolzano suggest another relegation fight may be on the cards.

The Blucerchiati were three down within half an hour at Sudtirol as Daniele Casiraghi, Silvio Merkaj and Hamza El Kaouakibi put the game to bed before half-time. Massimo Coda netted a late consolation goal to become Serie B’s all-time top scorer with 136 goals, one better than Stefan Schwoch.

Donati has already shown a degree of tactical flexibility, switching from his preferred 3-5-2 to a 4-2-3-1 against Modena and Sudtirol and a new change may be on the cards again this weekend, with Genoa newspaper Il Secolo XIX suggesting Sampdoria could pivot to a 4-3-3.

Antonin Barak is expected to make his debut after joining from Fiorentina on loan on deadline day, while fellow summer signings Oliver Abildgaard and Liam Henderson look set to retain their places in midfield.

If Sampdoria are again bracing themselves for a difficult season, Cesena’s quest to return to the play-offs after losing in the semi-finals last term has got off to a strong start as they top the table after two games.

They won 3-1 in Pescara on the opening day and only conceding a 91st-minute equaliser at home against Virtus Entella prevented them from going into the international break with a perfect record.

While some of their Serie B rivals embarked on extensive overhauls in the summer, Cesena opted for minimal tweaks. 

The approach is a huge testament to Michele Mignani’s work. In his first campaign in charge of the Seahorses he took them to the play-offs and within a whisker of a second consecutive promotion.

So far, their summer approach has paid off with Cristian Shpendi scoring in each of Cesena’s two fixtures. The Albania Under-21 international hit the ground running last term too, when he scored 10 in his first 15 appearances.

However, he then netted just once between December and the end of the season and if Cesena are to mount another promotion tilt they will need him to keep scoring, particularly with fixtures against promotion favourites Venezia and Palermo on the horizon.

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