Mourinho full of praise for Empoli ahead of away trip

Jose Mourinho faced the media on Saturday afternoon, to preview the upcoming Serie A meeting with Empoli.

Sunday's game at the Stadio Carlo Castellani gets underway at 18:00 CET.

Here's what the boss had to say about the contest...

Those seven minutes against Juventus, the first half performance against Lecce in midweek ... what’s behind the mental weakness of this group – and do you have a plan to address it?

“You are very good at remembering the moments in which we haven’t been good, but for me it’s easier to talk about all the positive moments you forget – like the first 70 minutes against Juventus and how we performed against Lecce in the second half. But that game against Juve is behind us now; two weeks is a long time in football. I think we’ve talked about that game enough.

“The important thing is that we don’t hide behind excuses, and amongst ourselves we have talked about it all extensively. After the game against Lecce, I already said that I am the one who has to take responsibility for the first half performance.

“I tried to explain – and maybe I explained it poorly – that whenever anyone starts thinking about the next game and not the one they are playing in now, then usually they aren’t very helpful to their team. And I was not very helpful to my team. When a team is used to playing in a certain way, with two forwards or a trequartista behind a central striker, and then finds itself with three central midfielders of similar qualities and ideas then the fault lies with me. Fortunately we were aware of the possibility even before the game, and as a result I had options on the bench who could help me change the rhythm of the game. That’s the Lecce game in a nutshell for me.”

How is Chris Smalling doing? Could his return see another change in formation?

“Smalling is fine. Perhaps he’s not at his best, but he’s fine. He’s trained here at Trigoria with the rest of the group for two days, yesterday and today. Thursday he trained on his own. Obviously he also trained during the days where he was isolating at home, even if that imposes some limitations on how much he can really do. But he’s okay and he’s available.

“If he is needed to play, then he can play. At the moment we have all four central defenders available to us and all of them are playing well. Even Marash [Kumbulla], who two months ago did not have my complete trust, has now earned that with his hard work, humility and his willingness to take on constructive criticism. So I am very pleased.

“I do not remember having all four centre-backs available to me before. I have the options to play with three at the back, four, even five … it’s a good question but I don’t want to give an answer.”

Tammy Abraham has been involved in 19 goals so far for Roma. How much more can he improve, and what is his ceiling once he fully understands Italian football?

“It’s about how far we can go together. He’s not doing badly. It’s his first season, he’s changed leagues and football culture and his statistics are without taking any penalties. They also don’t factor in the number of times he has hit the post, which perhaps on another occasion could have been goals.

“However, honestly I expect a bit more from him. He has room to improve not just in terms of his numbers, but also in the quality of his play and some of the areas of his game that haven’t improved much yet. Now he is playing every game, he’s working hard, and I’m going to keep expecting more and more from him.

"But I go back to my initial answer: it’s about where we can get together. We have to do it together. I hope that individual improvements will be accompanied by improvements in the team as a whole.”

Other than Juventus and Inter, which teams in Italy do you think have a better squad than Roma’s?

“Given the current standings – where a team might win one and then lose one, where a side might go from fifth to eighth and back again – I think that’s where we are at. Clearly the top four in the table have a structural potential, in terms of the squad, the numbers and the experience, that allows them to be up there.

"We can get to that point in time, clearly. Next season, evolving things step-by-step with consistency, we can get to that point. But for me there are no doubts that, looking at how long it takes to build a team, that we are where we are.”

The transfer window is still open. One week ago you said Roma’s business was done – is that still the case? Are there other players who could still leave?

“Perhaps I was mistaken when I said it was done – someone got the wrong end of the stick or I wasn’t clear enough with what I said. The transfer market is open until January 31. If the question is whether I am expecting another new arrival, then the answer is no. I am not expecting that – but the window is still open.”

And what about departures?

“It depends a bit on how you view things. It seems sometimes like any time a player is on the bench for a game then suddenly it means they must be about to be sold. If it was really like this then things would definitely be pretty complicated. But that’s what the talk always is.

“Jordan Veretout has been on the bench once and now according to you all he has already been sold. Carles Perez is brought off at half-time and he’s already on the way out. That’s not the case. The four players that have gone this month – Villar, Mayoral, Reynolds and Calafiori – were part of a strategy, not necessarily a market strategy but how we wanted to shape our squad.

“I think that the squad we have now is the one we will stick with until the end of the season. In the end we have swapped four players who were not being used much for two players that in two games have already played more minutes than those four did in six months. Sergio Oliveira has played 60 minutes and 80 minutes, Maitland-Niles has already playing 200 minutes in total. So it was about changing the make-up of the squad.

“Sergio gives us different options in midfield, Maitland-Niles is a good cover option for both full-backs. They have improved our squad. And I have always said I am happy about that.

“It would be one thing to have got that business done on January 31 but we actually managed to sort it all out by January 10. As for the other players, they have all been used a lot: Perez has started eight or nine games. We need a squad of players, we don’t want players leaving.”

Going back to the goal Lecce scored – should Maitland-Niles have done more to put pressure on Arturo Calabresi?

“First of all you have to give credit to Lecce, who were not scared to go two-against-two with our forwards and surprised us with that. Because with us leaving two players up top we thought they would respond with leaving three back. But they did really, really well and showed a lot of courage.

“Too often we look at mistakes and forget that the other side did something really well. And they played really well. For me it was Lecce who did well.”

Tomorrow’s game would seem straightforward on paper… what do Roma need to do to be sure of winning? And will Stephan El Shaarawy be involved?

“El Shaarawy is in the squad for the game. Spinazzola and Pellegrini are both out.

“’On paper’ – you know what you are saying with that. That concept doesn’t exist, in my opinion. Look at Milan-Spezia, or Inter-Empoli in the cup. Luckily Serie A is getting a lot closer to the Premier League in terms of the possibility of surprise results, and that’s a really good thing. Empoli are having a really great season, considering they came up from Serie B and the issues that come with that. And I don't say that just because of the results, the points, the ease with which they are going to stay up – but because of the way they are playing.

“They are doing an amazing job. So I would ditch any talk about ‘on paper’, because I am certain it won’t be easy. We will need to play really well. If you look at the numbers, they are averaging more than two goals a game. They score goals, they know how to play, they know how to defend.

“They score in almost every game. If I’m not wrong, they haven’t score in only one of the last 10 games. They are continually improving and now they are playing with ambition and confidence and the aim of finishing as high up the table as they can.

“Teams that find themselves clear of relegation but out of the European race can play with calm and without pressure. That makes things easier for them – and makes the game much harder overall.”

Will tomorrow’s game be a repeat of the Coppa Italia meeting with Lecce in terms of the tactical clash?

“I don’t think so. Lecce are a good side, but they are a Serie B side. Empoli are in Serie A and there is a difference in quality. In terms of their approach to the game then yes, perhaps there are some points in common – but they play within different systems. Empoli can play with two up front or a playmaker in behind the striker and a diamond midfield. They have that flexibility.

“They always play with four at the back but that makes sense to me. They have that stability. I think they are a good side. Since they stopped worrying about the league table they have started playing some great football. We are going there hoping to continue a positive run, a winning run. We want to make it three wins in a row.”