Di Francesco's pre-Juventus press conference in full

On Friday afternoon Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco held his customary press conference ahead of the game against Juventus this weekend.

The game at the Allianz Stadium gets underway at 20:45 CET on Saturday.

Read everything the boss had to say about the big game...

Roma have never picked up a point at the stadium you’re playing at tomorrow. How do you prepare for that kind of challenge?

“First and foremost, I’d like to take the opportunity to wish everyone here a merry Christmas. We’ll prepare for it knowing it’s a massive game. I won’t say it’s decisive, but it’s hugely significant from a mental and psychological standpoint. The team has to try to get a positive result at all costs and at a tough ground in every respect. But we cannot alter the identity this Roma side has had up until now.”

Massimiliano Allegri earmarked you as the main title contenders. What do you think of the Juventus coach’s assessment?

“He said that Roma are ‘one of the contenders’ for the Scudetto. I thank him because it’s a compliment – he thinks we’re a strong team. He really knows how to win and can accurately assess opposition teams. He mentioned some significant stats regarding Alisson and our defence – I hope we can offer further confirmation of that tomorrow. I return the compliment because he is a top-level coach, in every respect.”

Which player would you nab from Juventus?

“Juve have got some very good players indeed. I think [Gonzalo] Higuain sticks out as one who is truly lethal. Then you could say [Paulo] Dybala, who I think is an outstanding footballer. But I pick [Mario] Mandzukic. He completely disrupts defending teams, thanks to his impressive physical attributes.”

How is Edin Dzeko at the moment and how is Patrik Schick coming along?

“Edin [Dzeko] really wants to score - he hasn’t done so for a while. We’ve spoken about it but in a very positive way. He wants to help the team out and doesn’t want to turn in into an agonising wait for a goal – he’s got what it takes to start scoring again. Maybe he’ll do so multiple times in a single game.

"In these sorts of matches, Dzeko and Higuain can make a decisive impact on the outcome. Schick is developing across the board but he needs game time, like I’ve given to other players. Goals will clearly help him psychologically.”

What are Roma aiming for in Turin?

“I’d prefer to answer that after the game. Obviously, we’re not going there to relax – that’s last on our minds. The result will influence a lot of opinions, just like what happened after the Coppa Italia tie that suddenly changed people’s minds. Getting a result in Turin will give a huge boost to the team, it will be a very important result for the entire squad."

Three former Giallorossi players have today been picked out as going from losers at Roma to winners at Juventus. What do you think of this?

“I don’t have to answer to anything. All of this should give us greater motivation and sense of responsibility. It’s good that there’s freedom of the press, but our response should come on the pitch. Let people gossip away, we’re not obliged to respond to TuttoSport.”

Have the team’s performances taken a backwards step?

“I have read and heard some absurd things about our performances. If you judge a performance based on the final result, then you’re right. I have heard that our team is fourth-last in terms of metres run in the league. It’s not important how far a team runs but the quality of those runs. Otherwise we’d pick someone who’s able to cover 13 kilometres every game and he’d be man of the match. We have lacked something in front of goal, but you cannot say that Torino slaughtered us the other night.

"We were naïve on a few set pieces and this affected us, but in terms of building play and the chances we created, we did better against Torino than Cagliari. The results haven’t been there and we must get back on the right track. It’s down to ourselves and me as the coach that we haven’t been scoring goals. I only know one way to improve: proving it with facts on the pitch. Physically we’re improving, and we hope to raise the bar still further in terms of results.”

If there’s a penalty tomorrow, who’s taking it? Diego Perotti or Dzeko?

“Daniele De Rossi! No, the penalty taker is always decided beforehand and neither Dzeko nor Perotti were in the starting line-up against Torino. When a player nominates himself to take one, he mustn’t change his mind and there must never be confusion or disagreement. I will choose the penalty taker tomorrow, let’s see who takes it. I don’t want to give an edge to their goalkeeper, who already knows Roma well.”

If Mandzukic plays tomorrow, will the key battle be between him and Alessandro Florenzi?

“Mandzukic with his physical prowess always has an impact. He has this great ability to finish off crosses from the right with power and quality, but we can also attack him thanks to Florenzi’s qualities going forwards.”

Over the last ten years, the side with the best defence has always won the Scudetto. Do Roma just need to maintain their form at the back to win the title?

“Juventus have won games 1-0 so many times. We need to improve our form in front of goal – that’s unavoidable. If you have loads of shots but don’t score often, this has to get better. But I want to be positive because we will improve. We must make sure our attributes come to the fore and attack better.”

After the missed opportunity in the Coppa Italia, does tomorrow’s game take on even more importance?

“We stepped onto the pitch on Wednesday looking to secure qualification to the next round, regardless of any decisions that were made which are my responsibility alone. I’d like to re-watch the match with you, to see what exactly where we went wrong. We continued our recent poor run in front of goal, which was one of the reasons for our exit.

"We now have two aims: to be in contention for as long as possible in Serie A and in the Champions League. We’ve succeeded in the Champions League and you don’t go from hero to zero in a heartbeat. I’ve been asked to apologise for the cup exit; this is something you do only when there was no effort, dedication or desire, something I cannot accuse my team of. I spoke about bad luck the other day and that was the wrong word to use; we’re disappointed we didn’t go through against Torino. We must improve and we’re here to go for the highest honours possible.”

You played in Juventus v Roma on February 1998 and were on the bench for the 2-2 draw that secured the league title in 2001. What does playing against Juventus mean to you?

“It has always been a tricky fixture: even when we got the draw that won us the Scudetto, we were two goals down. [Hidetoshi] Nakata helped us back into the game and I remember it like a victory. I hope to feel the same sensations tomorrow, even though the game back then was at a much more important stage of the season. Roma haven’t got a result in Turin for a few years and it’s become a harder place to go than before.”

Juventus have become watertight in defence after losing to Sampdoria. Could we see Schick partner Dzeko tomorrow?

“I’m not telling you the line-up. As Juventus do their mind-games, I don’t want to give any advantages to the opposition. Schick still needs to show his full talent. People say that Dybala is still developing and we should hold off judging him, while Schick is already considered fully developed. Here’s the difference between the two environments. We mustn’t judge a player after one game. I’m telling you that he’s not only talented technically but also physically. Let’s allow him to mature and develop as far as his ability takes him.”

Is there truly the feeling that to be successful you need to something other than here?

“Whatever happens inside players’ heads doesn’t interest me. As a player, when I chose to sign for Roma, I did so because of the people who were here. I actually had an option to go to Juventus but I chose Roma. Juventus are a great club, but for me it would be fantastic to win something big here at Roma.

"I don’t care what other people think, I just want to say what’s on my mind. I’d like to change the mentality here, where people jump to conclusions too quickly, and make the atmosphere more resilient: people are too quick to attack mistakes. We have so much to improve upon.

"Juve should be an example of how to become a big club, but it’d be nice to do this here where there’s sun and amazing support.”