Mourinho fully focused on Genoa as season enters decisive phase

The Serie A game at the Stadio Olimpico gets underway at 15:00 CET.

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

What are you expecting from tomorrow’s game against Genoa? Will Lorenzo Pellegrini be in the squad?

“Lorenzo won’t be in the squad for tomorrow, he’s still not ready to play.

"As far as Genoa go, obviously it’s a little difficult to know how they will try to play. They have changed coaches and they have changed about half the squad too. They have a lot of different options, so it’s not straightforward to understand how they might approach things and their game against Udinese doesn’t really give us a clear insight into whether the players they have signed can go straight into the starting line-up or not.

“But there is one important element for us, something that’s more important than how the opposition might look to play, which is that we are playing at home, in front of our fans – who will be back in bigger numbers after two successive wins in the league. It would be a big thing for us to make that three in a row, nine points out of a possible nine. That’s what we need to be focused on.

“Obviously we’ve studied Genoa’s game against Udinese, we’ve studied what we can from that – but we need to focus on ourselves. For the fans coming back to the Olimpico we will make sure we give everything we have to win.”

Nicolo Zaniolo has always been a key part of your plans. Do you think Tiago Pinto’s comments this week were taken out of context?

“My opinion is that the director’s comments were completely normal. It’s difficult for a sporting director, or general manager as they are also often called, who is honest and direct and doesn’t like to hide from subjects or blow smoke … it’s difficult for anyone like that to say with certainty that Player A, B, C or D will be part of the plans next season. Perhaps, even if they did say that, the players wouldn’t be happy to hear it – because perhaps they want to feel a bit more freedom over their choices. I think a certain maturity is needed.

"Maturity is a key word for our Roma project. But it should be an important word for you [journalists] too. As a club we are showing our growing maturity. I think about the nature of the project, the way myself and the sporting director work together, and how we are imparting that maturity. A way of dealing with things, carrying ourselves, believing in our actions and building a bond with the fans … it’s all part of that maturity. I think a little bit of maturity with you guys wouldn’t hurt either. The director’s answer was taken completely out of context of the overall press conference. So a bit of maturity is necessary in order to make sure an honest phrase isn’t turned into front-page fodder for a week.

“To bring this story to an end, I just want to say that I am pleased with the transfer window. If you ask me if I would have preferred a window like some other teams, then obviously I would say yes. I’ve already experienced that, in terms of what Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter did in the past, but considering our project parameters I am pleased. I’m pleased because today we are a better team than we were on December 31.

“We’ve lost four players that weren’t playing much for us, and in their place we have taken two who have played more minutes in two weeks than those four had done prior. That’s why I’m pleased. Our target is to keep on improving. Going back to Nicolo, if my target is that – to make Roma better with every passing transfer window – and continues to be that for as long as I am here at Roma, which will ultimately be up to the Friedkins, then my target will be to ensure the most important players stay with us.

"In Nicolo’s case, he is our player until at least 2024. So, can we end the press conference here? I’ve just answered everything in one go!"

How tough is it to prepare the team for tomorrow’s game considering that Tuesday’s Coppa Italia match against Inter is waiting in the wings?

“We haven’t talked about the Inter match. We haven’t wasted a minute talking about Inter or analysing Inter. Nothing. Not even the analysts have started working on the Inter game. We are fully focused on this match.

“After this game we will have two days [to prepare]. The game tomorrow will finish about 5pm. Probably by about 7pm I will be here with my assistants and my analysts to start thinking about the cup match. But up until now we haven’t thought about it at all. Tomorrow is too important for us – every game right now is really important for us. There are three points to be had and we are focused on tomorrow.”

Matias Vina has come back without much time to recovery. Could he sit this one out or do you not really worry too much about the amount of travel he has done?

“He hasn’t been back very long, but he didn’t play [during the international break]. At times he’s come back having played three games in 15 days, or even injured. This time he’s come back without playing and he’s come back happy, because his country have qualified for the World Cup. A dream for any player.

“We are now a more balanced side, a side with more options. That’s what we wanted when we went into the transfer market last month. We didn’t get carried away, but we did things in a way that gave us a bit more balance. Now we have Karsdorp and Maitland-Niles as right-back options, and Matias Vina and Maitland-Niles as left-back choices. We are about to go into a week with three games – so everyone will get a chance to play.”

Could Lorenzo Pellegrini be available for the game against Inter on Tuesday? Against Empoli you went back to the three-man defence – when Pellegrini is back do you think he can sit in a midfield alongside Sergio Oliveira and Henrikh Mkhitaryan?

“In Milan we played with Jordan Veretout, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Mkhitaryan in a midfield like that. Sergio, perhaps, is a bit more of a fixed player than Veretout, Veretout can move in different positions. But we have plenty of options there, we have different players with different options.

“If we think about the future and continuing to improve, then it is clear that we need a player with different qualities – a proper deep-lying playmaker is something we don’t have. Right now we have the options we do and we can play in a three with Veretout, with Pellegrini, even with Edoardo Bove who has improved a lot.

“I’m really happy with that because he’s a boy with a lot of talent and maturity about him. He doesn’t seem to be a kid. I’m happy with how he is developing. The squad now is more balanced overall.

“Going back to your question, we can play with three central midfielders there. We can play with two central forwards. Whenever a squad has a chance to work with the same coach for a while, with the same overall tactical philosophy, the players understand the different roles a bit better and the differences between systems. A squad always needs to be ready to play in different shapes depending on the circumstances. So we could play with three in midfield.

“Going back to the very first part of your question, could Lorenzo be available on Tuesday? It’s possible. Yesterday he only joined in with part of training, whereas today he did everything with the rest of the group. He needs to rest, though, because he’s worked really hard to get back to where he is now. But I think it’s possible he could be available on Tuesday.”

Which is more important for Roma: qualifying for the Champions League again, or winning one of the cups they are in the hunt for this season? And, other than that, a tactical question: on Instagram you published a few drone videos looking down at the drills you do at training. A lot of dividing up of the pitch into smaller parts and things like that … how important do you think these new coaching methods are?

“I still think the easiest way to win things is to have the best players. But, obviously, beyond that I believe in training methods and what they can add. That’s why I am a coach. Otherwise I’d be happy being a sporting director – or maybe I’d just buy 5% of a club or something. The daily work I do, those drills I do, I think they are things that everycoach does. Every coach in the world could post something similar. You go on Instagram and you can see what the top coaches are doing.

“As for your other question, it’s honestly difficult to say. If we are in the Conference League then obviously we have to go and give it everything. And, up until it is mathematically impossible, we have to give it everything in every game to try and finish in the top four too.

“Finishing in the top four [and qualifying for the Champions League] would be important from a financial perspective and in terms of prestige, to be playing in the most important club competition. But I also think that winning is a virus – a good virus, not like Covid – and changes how you think and brings your plans to life. Winning is just a vital thing and it would be really important for us to do that.

“But, let’s see about all that – right now the most important thing for us is that we win against Genoa.”

From now until the end of the season, how important is it that a winning mentality is imparted on the squad and they stay united?

“When this period is over it’s all done; the results will be there and can’t be changed. Now we are in the final countdown. Every game, every point, every detail matters. Every Coppa Italia game is a knockout game, every Conference League tie is a knockout tie. This is our group, these are the players. Let’s see if Leonardo Spinazzola is able to help us before the end of the season too.”

Are you expecting a bit of a dirty game tomorrow, a bit like the one against Sampdoria?

“The game against Sampdoria [before Christmas] ended with me asking a question to the referee in good faith. And he had a good answer for me then, too. The question was: ‘Why don’t you give a goalkeeper a yellow card for time-wasting after 15 minutes, not 89?’ Because in the 89th minute the goalkeeper is more than happy to take a yellow card. When one team does not want to play, it goes against the essence of what the game should be. I think that a referee should look to show a yellow card sooner, that way the quality of the game would improve.

"Against Udinese, Genoa committed a huge number of fouls. That shows they don’t want the opposition to play. If you commit that amount of fouls, especially if you look at it based on each minute, then I think it’s something that shouldn’t be acceptable in modern football. One of the reasons for that is now most clubs actually want to play. I was coaching at top clubs for a number of years and so I understand how it works, because that was the dynamic for 15 years. Since I’ve been back in Italy, though, it’s been a bit a different.

"When we faced Fiorentina on the first day of the season, or Sassuolo a few weeks later, then I can only say that the amazing way they play goes hand-in-hand with a desire to really play football. So nowadays Italian football has more great games than before.”