Juric news conference ahead of Dynamo Kyiv clash

Find out what the boss had to say below...

How are you going to rotate for this European game? Will you make wholesale changes or smaller ones like for the game against Inter? Will Artem Dovbyk be rotated?

“I haven't decided yet. [Gianluca] Mancini didn't finish the session because of a temperature so we have to see about that. I'll definitely make a few changes but, with seven matches in 21 days, I think it's right to involve as many people as possible and give them all chances so that I can make choices. There won't be huge changes but there will be some.”

When you joined Roma, everyone knew you as a coach capable of instilling grit, intensity and determination. This team doesn't seem to have taken on those typical traits of yours. Why do you think that is?

“We're getting there. To be honest, in the last game we saw plenty of desire but at the same time, as you say, we don't have a winning mentality yet. Of the last 17 matches, Roma have only won three – one with Daniele and two with me. That means we don't have the right mentality for Roma, or even for a lower-level team.

“It's true that I can see good performances in many areas, but at the end of the day against Monza we made lots of mistakes and didn't win, and the same at Elfsborg. Against Inter I thought we played well, with character, but then you make a mistake that costs you the match. We have everything we need to work well, we're not lacking anything, so there are no excuses. We have all the right conditions to succeed and we're doing lots of things well, but we don't have that winning mentality and that absolutely has to change. Performing like this, picking up a point or losing and being happy is not good.

“I expect to see even more determination to improve in that sense tomorrow, because when you're in a rut you need grit and character to get out of it, regardless of who's in the dugout. That's what I want to see tomorrow and on Sunday. Games like Monza and Elfsborg where we dominate and don't win, or Inter where you make mistakes, are no longer acceptable.”

Speaking to Mile Svilar on Sunday, I could sense some discouragement in the dressing room given the spell you're going through. How's the mood in the camp and do you think this team has what it takes to deal with certain difficulties?

“I have to reply as I've already replied. In our last few games the team have done lots of things well, created lots of chances – we can mention Bilbao too, a great performance but with a goal conceded at the end.

“I'm happy with certain things. I can see players improving. I see him [referring to Tommaso Baldanzi] going flat out. I see people who have improved loads in different aspects. We're not where Roma should be at the moment – which is a team that wins games. We do lots of things well, there are lots of positives, but we need a complete change of mentality. I'm happy with the general performances, with certain details, when we up the pace, when we have the ball, but it's not enough.  I don't see excuses and I don't give any. All we can do now is react and push hard. My team have to show what they're made of.”

Are you playing Angelino in the centre of defence because of the qualities he has or because Mario Hermoso isn't at his best yet?

“No, Hermoso is a top professional and I like him a lot in that position. I see Angelino as a player who can dribble and create a numerical advantage, has good vision, a good cross, defensively he's very good, and I think he can do a great job at wing-back. He can do a great job at centre-back too and that's why I pick him there. It's not a choice made due to a lack of alternatives. It's a technical decision.”

Will Mats Hummels and Enzo Le Fee start tomorrow?

“I'm thinking about it but I still have to decide. I can't say for sure. I've spoken about Le Fee before. I expect big things from Hummels and we need him. We need to choose the right games to bed him in but I'm giving it serious consideration.”

It's been reported that tomorrow and Sunday are your last-chance saloon. As you said, you have everything in Trigoria, but perhaps there's not much protection for the coach? At club level I mean.

“I don't need anything else. The situation is perfect. We have a sporting director I talk to about everything. We share everything. I sense his confidence. He watches every training session and notices what's going well and what less well. Personally, I don't need anything else to be able to do my job well. I could point to things and make excuses, just as the players could, but that would show weakness. We have to go into games and tear into our opponents. As I said, we're not lacking anything. You come in for training here and everything is organised perfectly. The training facilities are fantastic. We have to win games. We've won three of 17 between me and Daniele – him 11 and one, me six and two. That means there's a problem with our mentality. The performances are there. We have the players. We're not on a par with Inter but we have the players. All excuses.

“I want to see something different tomorrow, not just in our play, in our commitment, but I've never conceded a goal like against Monza before. I'm not happy with this trend for a team that's committed. Tomorrow I want something else, more aggression, even if we don't play so well, we need something else if we want to become winners and change the mentality we have at the moment.”

Roma have got off to a bad start in Serie A and in Europe. What comes first at the moment, the league or Europe?

“Everything is important in my book. Tomorrow is not important – it's more than that. Given the way things have gone in recent seasons, the club wants to get into the Champions League and believes it to be very important. Europe and the Coppa Italia can both give you great joy. We mustn't underestimate anything. It's the same for the players: take Baldanzi, for example. He always comes off the bench and tomorrow he'll start but it's not rotation. He's not a reserve. Everything is important, but obviously the primary goal is the Champions League.”

Your style of football is tiring mentally as much as it is physically, as you said when you first arrived here. And now you're talking about a winning mentality. So how do you train this team's mentality?

“In terms of our football and the way we play, we've taken huge strides forward. You improve a winning mentality in training. We haven't messed up that often but that's where you grow, that's where you become tough and you learn not to fall. Going into games with the right attitude helps build a winning mentality too. Mentally and physically, if you raise the level so much in a month, in terms of sprints and acceleration, it means the body is getting used to it and you go with it. It has to be the same with your mind. You have to start winning again, wanting to win, and right now we're not there yet.”

Do you need more dynamism in midfield?

“Some things are good but we can do much better. We can do better generally. There have been games where I was happy. Less so the other day. We have lots of players in midfield and we'll try different combinations. But there are no guaranteed spots, that's for sure, and certainly not when things aren't going well. They're all on the same level in my eyes and they can all play.”

Ultimately it's always the quality of the players that makes the difference. Does that mean that some players aren't giving everything they could at the moment?

“I think that when I play Monza, I have to win. When I see the match against Inter, I have to draw. When I see the Elfsborg game, I have to win or draw. Against Bilbao I have to win. When you play games with the right effort and desire, you have to get your reward. Of course sometimes you have bad days when you don't play well and you lose. At the moment we're in debt. Our performances are better than our results but that's not an excuse. It means that mentally we're not ready. The goals against Monza and Bilbao shouldn't happen.

“I think this team will grow but they have a huge opportunity, a unique opportunity. From a completely shitty situation, a complete disaster all around them, they can get back up, but they also need a different kind of determination, an incredible desire to turn things around and go again. You don't often find yourself in asituation like this in life, with protests and boos against you, for various reasons. The fans are always right but the players can turn things around. That's how they need to see it – as the best opportunity of their lives. In a magnificent place, where the stadium is always full and with incredible support, they have to turn it around. And to do that, they need to become like animals. Good football, good running, good turn of pace, but they need a different mentality. I expect something different starting tomorrow.”