Roma manager Claudio Ranieri spoke today ahead of tomorrow’s clash against Fiorentina in Rome. These are his words:
How are Ünder, Pastore and Pellegrini?
I haven’t had long to work with Cengiz, Pellegrini or Pastore. I need to play the doctor a bit and decide who is able to play from the start and who can come off the bench. Those three are all available, though, to an extent.
Can the defeat on Sunday and the defeat in the Coppa Italia against Fiorentina be a boost?
I hope that these defeats are the gas that makes us react. Seven goals conceded in a cup match is a lot, many of which were in the same area as they bypassed the defence. Fiorentina does this very well. We’ll have to careful.
Dzeko and Schick don’t seem to convince as a pair. Will one of them rest tomorrow?
It’s possible, we’ll see. I will ask how Dzeko is — he took a spill against Napoli and played with a knock above his ankle. I have to see how he is, then I will evaluate and choose.
Are you thinking of changing formation?
I’m thinking 25 hours a day about how to help this team. It’s not easy but I’m putting it all on myself. I will evaluate everything closely.
Olsen or Mirante?
I need to wait and see about Olsen and Mirante after training tomorrow morning – and not just about those two either. Dzeko played with a knock on Sunday that got worse – I’ll need to see how he is too.
Did you talk to Pallotta after Napoli? Do you feel like you’re having trouble getting this team to show its attributes?
I didn’t talk to Pallotta. This is a team that is experiencing a particular moment, I have seen the analysis of the number of kilometers we ran. We are similar to Napoli, but Napoli has run as a team and we didn’t. They were precise in their passing while we weren’t. This seems to be a lack of confidence. I want guys who know how to react, everything is easy when things are going well, but when things are going wrong you have to start helping each other.
Could you use a diamond midfield tomorrow?
I’m considering all options. I need to see how the players respond in training. I want a compact, tight team: it’s easy to say, harder to do.
