Fonseca: Players know how crucial this part of the season is

Coach Paulo Fonseca held his customary pre-match press conference on Saturday, ahead of the Serie A meeting with Parma.

Sunday's game at the Ennio Tardini gets underway at 15:00 CET.

Here's what the Portuguese had to say going into the contest...

You need to manage a few tired legs, after so many games and so many injuries. Given all that, will Bryan Cristante stay in defence – or perhaps play in midfield?

“As far as Cristante goes, let’s see tomorrow. However, it’s true, we are playing a lot of games right now and the players are tired. For that reason we need to make some changes.

"I am not saying that I will change the whole side, but we do need to rotate in a few areas – mainly among those who have played the most games. But obviously there are some areas we cannot make changes, because we don’t have many other options. There could be three, four or five changes tomorrow.”

Between Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Edin Dzeko, who is in better shape to start tomorrow?

“Well, Micki isn’t fit. In terms of the strikers then clearly it is Dzeko and Borja Mayoral who are available. Both of them are doing well and ready for the game, but I don’t want to say who will play.”

How has Lorenzo Pellegrini improved recently?

“In a bit of everything. As I have said before, Lorenzo is a really important player for us. He can play different positions, he’s a clever player. With time he is getting better, and that’s normally what happens. But I think the team has improved too – and if the team is going well, then the players tend to perform better too. So it’s an overall process, not isolated to individuals.

"Winning games gives the team confidence, and I think being captain of that team gives him confidence as well. As I’ve said, it’s a bit of everything.”

Pedro seems to be struggling a bit – why is that?

“If you watched the game against Shakhtar, then you will have seen that Pedro had a crucial impact. He made the assist for Pellegrini’s goal and he was among the best performers, it was a great display. I don’t want to talk about who will play tomorrow but I will make one exception – Pedro will start.”

What about Pau Lopez – is his improvement down to having found a bit more stability defensively now?

“The team is doing better defensively and Pau has a better understanding of the things he needs to do in certain moments. He’s working hard every day, he’s playing a lot more games, he’s doing well. That’s normally how it goes. What we can do for a player in that situation is allow him to play and build confidence.”

At what point is Stephan El Shaarawy at with his reintegration into the group?

“Stephan came on in midweek and did well – he scored a goal, so he’s confident and feeling good. He has a few different characteristics compared to some of his teammates – and that’s why we brought him here. However, I do want to say one thing: let’s let El Shaarawy get on with things on his own. There is a lot of pressure on him, a lot of expectation right now - that he can solve all the issues the team might have. He needs to be allowed to work calmly, and then over time it is inevitable that, with the quality he has, he will help the team. Will he play tomorrow? We’ll have to see.”

What do you think of the decision to move Juventus-Napoli to April 7? You will have just two days to prepare for the game against Napoli, whereas Gattuso’s side will have a week…

“Honestly, I don’t really like to comment on things that I don’t know all the facts about – I don’t know the reasons behind the decision. Clearly, as a coach I would say that preparing for three games in a week is very different to preparing for one or two. And for us it will be difficult, preparing for the game against Napoli after a trip to Ukraine.”

Will Chris Smalling be back in time for Thursday?

“Against Genoa he played really well. He did not play against Shakhtar because he had a little knock and I wanted him to play this weekend. The truth is that Chris still has this little problem. It’s better not to risk him tomorrow because if we do we could lose him for four or five games, rather than just one. We can’t take a risk like that. We will monitor his situation, see how he feels, and then make a decision.”

You always seem to remain level-headed about any situation. Is that truly your approach, or something agreed upon with the club?

“That’s how I am. I try to keep balanced. If you want to have a balanced atmosphere within the club, as I’ve often said, then you have to be the first one showing that balance. And it’s important to do that at all times.”

Does Gonzalo Villar need to work on things physically in order to be more dominant defensively?

“Villar can still get a lot better defensively. It’s clear that, compared to a year ago, he is a completely different player now. He has improved a lot defensively, but there is still room for him to improve even more. But we can’t forget that he came from a completely different environment and style of football. Here the game is a lot more physical. But we are working with him on that.”

Talking about the physical side, we saw a lot of that against Shakhtar...

“It was important to show that side of us in the Europa League, but I think we have improved in that regard in recent games anyway. We’ve done better. It’s important that the team realise that this is an important period of the season. We need to keep working in order to improve this side of our game.”

What sort of game are you expecting tomorrow?

“I watched Parma’s game against Fiorentina. They drew, they played well. They are a team in a tough situation, for them now every game is like a final. But it is the same for us. It is always difficult to go to Parma and play, too.

"They are a physical side, solid and good on the counter-attack. It will be tough, but every game is tough here in Italy. I’m not under any illusions about that.”