Sampdoria fans have delivered a scathing indictment of the club following Sunday's 3-0 defeat to Genoa in the Derby della Lanterna.

The Blucerchiati faithful branded the players' performance as shameful and called for an immediate response against Cagliari on Saturday.

An open letter read: "To the team: We saw a group of cadavers wandering round the pitch. Not only did you not look like players, but not even men. It is not the behaviour of a man to fall without a fight, to let himself be derided without reaction.

"The shame you covered yourselves in should push you to react with pride, even if we are not sure you have the moral content to do that."

Questions were also asked of coach Delio Rossi after three games without a win this season.

"To the coach: Seeing as we are not tacticians, but fans, we want to ask Delio Rossi and his staff to give the right mentality to the team," the letter read. "Please make sure the performance we saw on Sunday is never repeated again.

"The players hurled mud at your work and we can assure you that seeing a side so dramatically devoid of character hurts us fans much more than one substitution or another."

Finally, the fans called for president Edoardo Garrone to take action in order to avoid relegation to Serie B this season.

"To the club: The programmes you spoke about haven't happened and once again we start the season scrambling to secure safety. The fans have great heart but, unfortunately for you, also a good memory and our efforts deserve more respect.

"It is also too easy to put all the blame on to the team and coach, as we expected the president to take more responsibility. Relegation to Serie B would be a sporting disaster. We remember it well, so you remember it too."

Samp finished 14th last season.