Reja a relieved man as Lazio stay up - Lazio v Udinese brought forward to Saturday

Lazio coach Edy Reja heaped praise on his players after Sunday's 2-1 win at Livorno secured their Serie A status.

The result lifted the Biancocelesti into 15th place - eight points clear of the drop zone heading into the final week of Serie A.

"In the end, I think Lazio have proved their worth, which is not reflected in the standings," said Reja.

"At one point of the campaign we really feared the worst and that is why we have celebrated this win which sees us defend our Serie A status."

Reja's relief was understandable as they have endured a dismal campaign.

The Eternal City outfit were eliminated from the Europa League before the winter break and were knocked out of the Coppa Italia in January (Fiorentina).

Their poor run of form, which had seen them plummet to the 17th position after four wins and nine defeats in 23 league games, brought to an end Davide Ballardini's coaching spell at Lazio.

Since the arrival of Reja back in February, the Biancocelesti have claimed 21 points in 13 games en route to defending their Serie A status.

"I have to thank my players," said Reja. "They have given everything they had to make sure the team remained in the top flight."

Reja, whose side end the season at home to Udinese on Saturday (the match has been brought forward due to security reasons - it will kick off at 8:45 pm), is already looking forward to the future.

"I think we can start over next season with the same group of players in order to build up a team able to fight at a certain level," he said.

The National Centre for Sports Events (Osservatorio Nazionale) has decided to bring forward the Udinese game for security reasons. If Roma win the League, both sets of fans could dangerously mix up in the city areas. The same has happened with the Milan v Juventus game for Inter fans could celebrate in case their team win their fifth consecutive Scudetto, and they could mix up with Milan and Juventus fans in the city centre. The Osservatorio took this decision to prevent any contact between city rivals.