Roma manager Paulo Fonseca held his pre-match press conference today ahead of tomorrow’s match in the Italian capital between his side and Udinese. Here’s what he had to say:
How can you explain what’s happened to Roma compared to the one in the first part of the season? The growth seems to have stunted.
These are different moments, but the ambition must stay the same. We’ll have to play tomorrow the same way we did in the first leg against Udinese. I understand that the results are not as expected, but I think that the team compared to the one at the start of the season has grown.
It is true that I did not expect that result against Milan because the team had worked very well. What is important is that the team has an identity. The way we play and think has grown. Obviously we must attain other results. I have to say that now is not the time to take stock of things. Now is the time to think about our next match. Whoever thinks the season is over for us is wrong. We have 10 matches left — we have to take things match by match. I’m confident for tomorrow.
Thinking about tomorrow, Veretout and Pellegrini are disqualified. Is Villar ready? What about Zaniolo?
Zaniolo has trained only two days with us, it is a long process and he is not ready to be called-up for a match right now. We will see tomorrow about Villar, he is ready.
It’s a question of strategy and a player’s condition. It’s a question of options. We need all of our players and everyone could play.
With the Champions League qualification compromised, is it difficult to maintain concentration? Would you consider 5th place disappointing?
Tomorrow is the most important game for us, then it will be the one against Napoli. We’re just thinking about winning tomorrow.
Could some tactical difficulties be resolved with a three-man defence? Is it a solution you’re thinking about?
We haven’t had any tactical difficulties in these two games. Looking at our games carefully, we are almost always a team that starts the action with three — it’s not as if we’ve had issues preventing goals over these past two games: it doesn’t depend on us defending better. Samp’s goal and Milan’s two goals don’t have to do with tactical breakdowns.
