Rolando Maran celebrated Cagliari’s Serie A safety after a 1-1 draw at Genoa, but admits they have developed a “phobia” in away fixtures.

“We were virtually safe three or four weekends ago, but when it’s not mathematically guaranteed, there is always a little apprehension,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.

Rolando Maran celebrated Cagliari’s Serie A safety after a 1-1 draw at Genoa, but admits they have developed a “phobia” in away fixtures.

“We were virtually safe three or four weekends ago, but when it’s not mathematically guaranteed, there is always a little apprehension,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.

“When you play like this in such a fiery atmosphere, it means you have the mentality to stay in Serie A. We deserved it, we played some good football and today proved we can fight it out for a result.

“We expected Genoa to be aggressive and it was tough to press them, as they kept using long balls. We had to stretch them out and Leonardo Pavoletti scored a great goal once he found that space. He also set a new personal best, so congratulations to him.”

The game was heading to a 1-0 away victory until Domenico Criscito converted a last-minute penalty for handball.

“We came really close to winning it, but I concede Genoa deserved a point from this game. It’s nice to see our kit staff and everyone behind the scenes celebrate too, as we are a family and that’s what it’s all about.”

Cagliari have already picked up five more points than they had throughout all of last season, but their away form is a problem.

“I think it was a good season, as we were realistically never really in the danger zone, holding out even when we only had 11 players training and struggled to get a full line-up, we emerged from that difficult time intact.

“Unfortunately, after a few bad away results, it became almost a phobia. It was a mental block and this team must learn to play with the same identity outside Sardinia.”

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