Gigi de Canio is putting his new Lecce squad into a preseason-type ritiro after last weekend's 5-2 thrashing by Palermo.

De Canio has only been in charge of Lecce for a matter of days, but the former QPR boss has seen enough to know they need to change.

"At the end of today's training session we will go into a ritiro, because we want to optimise all the time we have at our disposal," explained the man who replaced Mario Beretta last week.

"We will examine everything that isn't working and try to find solutions. We need to improve both in attack and in defence.

"The situation is difficult. It was before Palermo and we knew that, otherwise the club would not have opted for a change in management."

De Canio's debut was a 5-2 hammering in Sicily, which means Lecce have picked up one point from their last seven games.

"The final result saw us emerge defeated, but I like to highlight how the team pushed forward a great deal, managing to keep tight.

"We did make many mistakes, some of them came about because the lads were so desperate to put into effect what I had asked of them rather than reading and interpreting the situations they ran into on the field.

"Their desire to follow my suggestions encourages me for the future. As an outside observer I was always impressed by this club and in a few days I got confirmation of the city's passion.

"We must not think, however, that the players don't deserve the support of their fans. A mistake can happen and only those who never do anything will avoid making any errors. I want to confirm that if we do ensure safety, it will be all together."