Jose Mourinho addressed the media ahead of Roma’s clash against Salernitana tomorrow evening.
The Portuguese technician spoke of changing the team’s approach against a smaller side, adapting to a more offensive style of play and the situation with players excluded from Roma’s plans.
Do you think you’ll have to change something in terms of offensive output against a more defensive team like Salernitana?
“Maybe they’ll surprise us and play with a different strategy. You never know. Their coach has a lot of experience and knowledge of football, he can certainly find another way to play.”
“If they play 5 again it will be the first time in this period that we will play against a team that defends at 5 because both Trabzonspor and Fiorentina were playing with a back 4.”
“It does not matter if it is a newly promoted side or Inter, we will always try to go for the win. For this reason we have to look for solutions. They are good, they defend well and put many players behind. They know how to do their job in the midfield. It will be tough, but we will have to find solutions.”
In previous days rumors emerged of Borja Mayoral possibly leaving the club before the end of this transfer window. Is he a player looking to leave? Did he give you the impression he wants to play somewhere else?
“I’m counting on him. We need three forwards. Two forwards is too big a risk for one season.”
“He is a good player, of quality. Last year he adapted well, he scored. He is a good guy, a good professional. No, I wouldn’t like it if he were to leave.”
When you speak of attackers, do you have a change of formation in mind?
“We can do a lot of things up front. Certainly with different dynamics, this team also played with three behind last year. There is also one thing we can do: we can play as we are doing now and we can change.”
“As I said, today it is difficult for a team to have only one gameplan, only one way of building from the back. Players need to find certain key dynamics, but at the same time they need to have tactical awareness that allows them to play with a different shape.”
What do you think of the behavior of certain players excluded from the first team?
“The situation is not easy to comment on. There are players of different profiles and who have people around them with different profiles.”
“Pedro, for example, wanted to play and must be respected, even if he has chosen a rival club.”
“Such professionalism must be respected. This is the perfect profile for clubs with decisions to make. There are different profiles: someone really wants to play, someone else prefers other things and things are more complicated. But everyone is free to do what he thinks, like us as a club and I as a coach are free to make my own decisions.”
