Pellegrini eager to get back to work

On Friday morning midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini joined Roma Radio to discuss his initial feelings after starting pre-season.

Pellegrini, 23, only began work with Paulo Fonseca's squad at the start of the week - having been given extra time off following his involvement with Italy's European Under-21 Championship campaign this summer.

Now back at Trigoria, Pellegrini discussed how he felt going into the new campaign with the squad.

How are you?

“I’m fine – we’re working hard. I’m lagging behind the rest of the lads slightly, because they’re already in their third week of training and I arrived a bit later. However I’m training hard to get myself up to speed.”

What’s your impression of the new coach?

“Very good indeed – I’ve enjoyed it very much. The training sessions are very intense. I knew many of the new arrivals already and I’m getting to know the others now. I think we’re a nice group, with good lads. As a youngster you’re able to take certain things on board, which makes it easier out on the pitch.”

How important is it to have a connection with your team-mates?

“It’s crucial to be united off the field – the positivity that you generate off the pitch can be taken into games too.”

There’s a lot of competition for midfield places in this team. Do you talk about being well-stocked in this area?

“It’s not something we’re talking about at the moment because this is only the beginning, also because some players are behind and are therefore training to get back to top condition. We know that, like last year, there are a lot of games to be played and it would appear that playing in midfield will be very demanding, given the way the coach wants to play. So, we’ll all make ourselves available.”

How is it being only 23 but feeling a bit like being the ‘man of the house’ among the new arrivals and the youngsters?

“I try to give them support, because I know it’s not easy. It wasn’t easy for me when I went to cut my teeth at Sassuolo, so I need to try and help everyone, such as [Alessio] Riccardi and [Mirko] Antonucci, who have come through at Roma like I did and are now part of the squad and could well become excellent players.”

What sort of player are you? How would you define yourself?

“I think the attacking phase of play comes more naturally to me but I’m working hard to improve my defensive skills. I’d say I’m a central midfielder, a role where nowadays you need to know how to do everything, from the holding role to playing in behind the forwards.”

Last season didn’t go very well – the club and everyone around it is hoping for improvements. How do you transmit that to the new arrivals?

“We ‘older’ players are trying to get that message across and so are the staff and the coach. We’re doing good work and preparing the ground to have a very good season. I hope we don’t do worse than last season – we have to improve. It was a tough campaign last time out, not just for us players but also for the club. We now just need to focus on working hard, playing football and winning games.

"I can’t deny that we listen to the goings-on around us but we do need to stay out of that as much as we can and focus on our work – the staff are helping us a great deal in that respect.”

What kind of person is [Paulo] Fonseca?

“I see him as a very direct person and that’s something I like. He tries to make you feel at ease, in order to communicate what he wants from you. I like the way he thinks about football. Now we have some time to really push on, because we’ve only been working with him for a few weeks and it’ll take time to implement the football that he’s demanding. Nonetheless, the feeling within the squad is positive.”

What do we mean by intensity?

“Intensity is about everything. It’s not just a physical concept – it’s also about mentality and concentration. Intensity is about going through a training session as a professional has to.”