Sampdoria club administrator Edoardo Garrone has taken full responsibility for his team's relegation from Serie A.

Their 2-1 defeat to Palermo yesterday coupled with Lecce's 2-0 triumph at Bari saw Samp demoted to Serie B after eight consecutive seasons in Italy's top flight.

"It is such a sad moment and the fans do not deserve it," said Garrone, the son of club president Riccardo. "It has been a terrible campaign for us.

"It is time to clean out the house and rebuild a team that can get back into Serie A as soon as possible. That is our promise.

"After so many years of great satisfaction at Sampdoria, this season ends with terrible disappointment."

A series of errors were made and they have to be recognised. We take responsibility, but also reaffirm our commitment to Sampdoria, which remains unchanged.
Edoardo Garrone, Sampdoria club administrator

Samp finished fourth last term and were in the UEFA Champions League preliminary round in August.

I Blucerchiati, who were ninth in the standings earlier this year, surprisingly sold the team's top scorer Giampaolo Pazzini to Inter Milan during the January transfer window.

Pazzini was the second big name to leave the Genoa outfit in January following Antonio Cassano's move to AC Milan. After their departures, Samp won just two and lost 12 of their next 17 league games.

"A series of errors were made and they have to be recognised," said Garrone. "We take responsibility, but also reaffirm our commitment to Sampdoria, which remains unchanged."

Samp lie 18th in the standings with 26 points from 37 games. They end the campaign at Roma on Sunday.