Ranieri speaks ahead of Genoa clash

Here’s what our boss had to say…

Has everyone recovered, apart from Bryan Cristante? Could an additional midfielder against Genoa bolster the team? For example, Nicolo Pisilli, and what he has to offer.

“With a three-man midfield structured as ours is we’re much more pragmatic. In terms of covering, I’m asking my defenders to stop Genoa’s attackers on the counter. We’ve seen that Genoa are a very compact team. [Patrick] Vieira has made them really practical. They’re determined, great at closing down spaces, and great at hitting teams on the counter-attack. We’ll have to be tactically very smart.”

Is there still a chance that Lorenzo Pellegrini might leave Roma during this transfer window?

“As I’ve always said, anything is possible in the world of football. However, I don’t think that it’s going to happen. If a team came in for him and he was happy to leave… But I think that’s the case for any player. That being said, I don’t think he’s leaving. That’s my hunch.”

Do you think Matias Soule is happy? Might loaning him out be an option?

"I’ve got a lot of faith in the lad. I’m convinced that he can be part of Roma’s future. He’s improving. I often ask him to be more practical and to take fewer touches. He’s staying at Roma. I believe in him and he’ll definitely get the chance to show people that he’s getting better.”

It's been made official that no Roma fans will be allowed to attend the club’s game in Udine.

“I’m sorry – that’s the first I’ve heard of it. We’ll try to sort something out. We play for the fans – there’s nothing better than their support. I hope that we’re able to make something happen. The club will take the best course of action and try to convince the police to allow the fans to cheer us on in Udine.”

Tomasso Baldanzi has done well as a sub in recent games. What do you make of him as a footballer?

“I’m opting for Baldanzi right now ahead of Soule because he had six months of bedding in last season. He provides the team with sparkle in those games where we’re lacking it. He’s another player I hold in high regard.”

Any news on Devyne Rensch? He’s a different kind of player to Alberto Costa, who Roma had on their radar. What kind of full-back are you after?

"I'm not going to talk about the transfer window, nor about players mentioned in the press. Who said that we’re tracking these players? I’m after a proper Roma player. I’m aiming on getting it right with a signing for this current Roma team and the one to come. We want a full-back with both defensive and attacking qualities who’s comfortable in a back four or a back five, either on the right or the left.”

Only Napoli and Inter have matched Roma’s points tally in the last four matches.

“I think Genoa have the same record as us. They’ve got three away wins. They manage to win away, whereas we can’t.”

You’ve always said that you don’t want to set limits and objectives. Are Roma capable of mounting a challenge for the European places? What place do the cups have in Roma’s season?

“Since I came in as coach the aim has been to take things game by game. I’ve never been into misleading the fans and overpromising. We need to give Roma an attractive, steadfast and practical identity, to make our fans proud. We’re interested in all of the competitions we’re in – we’ll fight on all fronts. If our opponents are better than us then we’ll hold up our hands and admit it. That’s how sport works. We’re making ourselves competitive. You saw that I made five changes and the lads who came immediately showed the right mentality. We’ve got seven games in 21 days. We’ll have to be on point every time and recover physical but especially mental energy. That’s what’s most important.”

What do you make of this group of players in light of the lack of away victories?

“I don’t think it’s a psychological problem – it’s more about focus. That upsets me. In addition to showing the players certain video clips I also showed them where we’re going wrong. I can’t do more than that. When it comes down to playing it’s up to the players themselves to remember these things.

“Everyone leaves players back to cover now. I’m sorry, because in Bologna we lost our way when we were pushing even harder. When we’re pushing to score we pile too many players forward. All of the lads want to get involved in attack. They just can’t understand that if there are five attackers, at least two of them need to be ready to track back. Instead, we all attack, across the entire width of the pitch, and all it takes is a rebound. We just need to review the action and we've done that. We came out second best to a loose ball and we were then caught on a counterattack. We failed to commit a foul, three or four of our players tried to close the opponent in possession down, but they passed it across. What’s more, the bad thing is that we conceded a goal immediately after, and for four or five minutes we were all at sea. We were running the risk of conceding a third. We’ve go to avoid this.

“I ask myself, why were we able to be at it until the end against Tottenham [Hotspur]? We played our game, but now what are we doing? I ask questions of the lads, but it’s out there on the pitch that answers are given. We’re working on this. Today during the training match everyone was talking about defensive covering. I hope that by dint of being the team that’s suffered the most counterattacks in the whole of Serie A we improve. Opponents look to exploit that - as I would.”

Have Roma improved since you became coach?

“I expected it to be like this. When a team changes their coach – in this case, for the third time in the season - it’s because the team aren’t doing well. Morale is low, self-esteem is low, there are issues. That’s what I expected, but now we’ve solved them. The boys are hungry to do well. We’re working hard, you have to believe me, regardless of how the games have gone.

“I’ll say something that may seem strange, but regarding the Como match – which we lost – we ran a lot more than against Lazio. So, running isn’t everything - it’s running with purpose that’s important. Since I’ve been coach I’ve seen that the lads sometimes get carried away with enthusiasm and run too much. We’ve got to be smart on the pitch. The team has settled down now and we’re doing reasonably well. I’m not only happy with the transitions, but also with other things that I always harp on about. I hope that gradually these lads will be able to implement these things on the pitch.”

Are you talking to Cristante? Have you been reassuring him about his role at Roma? Will we see him again in a Roma shirt?

“Definitely. There’s no doubt that we’ll see him again. Of course I’m talking to him. He’s now started training on the pitch again. All of his medical examinations went well. He just needs to increase his physical workload out on the pitch. He’s done a lot of work, both swimming and running. He needs to get back into the swing of things. I hope to have him working with the rest of the lads from next week and to have him available for selection. He won't have 90 minutes in him but having him available with the group is something.”

Against Bologna there were times that Roma looked unsure of themselves. Would you say that this is Claudio Ranieri's team?

“If you know me at all then the answer is no. A Claudio Ranieri team should play on the front foot. That’s why I say we’re a work in progress. It’s like those signs you see on the motorway – ‘we’re working for you’. I’m working for myself and trying to inject my beliefs. Sometimes we take steps forward, sometimes steps back. I’m not a ball possession guy, I don’t like it. We’re working, and that’s the only way we can improve.”