Ranieri news conference before Cagliari

This is what he had to say...

“Before starting I'd like to go back to what happened with [Mats] Hummels. I saw the images on a phone and I didn't really understand the dynamics. I think the sending off was a bit excessive as we didn't have all four criteria to define it as a clear goal-scoring opportunity. I think it was a bit harsh. A booking would have sufficed. In a match like Bayern Munich v Real Madrid, they would have given a yellow and no one would have made any fuss. That's what I think but there you go. I'd happily have [Clement] Turpin for every game. The same with [Francois] Letexier. They're excellent referees and quick decision-makers, which is what I like. But that's football for you.

“Now we can move on to Cagliari. I don't normally hold a press conference after Thursday matches but Cagliari is a special city for me. It's where I began my coaching career. Let's talk about the game.”

Manu Kone and Lorenzo Pellegrini didn't feature at all against Athletic and Alexis Saelemaekers only played a few minutes. That's quite big news. What do you have to say about that?

“We know that a coach can only make five subs. For you, them not playing is news; for me it's a bonus, an extra possibility. We were playing against a team that we knew would attack us and I needed a certain type of player. But the plan went out the window after ten minutes and we weren't able to play our game. I see them as players who make us a strong team. There's no 'news' there for me. If it's news for you, fine. You do your jobs.”

Why did you take off Artem Dovbyk immediately after the restart and not at half time? And how do you rate his current form?

“I took him off because I thought it was the right thing to do when I saw they were still attacking too much. I put on [Matias] Soule because he gave the team better shape. I left [Paulo] Dybala on because he was able to offer me a focal point up front, which Dovbyk couldn't. He needs to wake up and show what he's capable of. We believe in him and now he needs to believe in us.”

Have you made any progress regarding the new coach?

“Do you think I would come here and tell you if there was? It's early days. Wait till the end of the season. We need to focus on the last ten games – that's the most important thing now. We have five home games and five away. For Lazio we'll be staying in Rome so it's six and four. Let's pull out all the stops in these ten games and hopefully we'll be able to get the points we deserve.”

What do you mean by "Dovbyk has to believe in us"?

“We have an aggressive style of play. I told him he has to worry about scoring goals and we'll worry about the performance. If you put in a performance and don't score, that's fine, but if you don't put in a performance and don't score either, then I start thinking. That's all. I ask the lads for a performance. I know they can't always be 100% and it's up to me to decide if a player operating at 70% is useful to the team, and if not I change. But if you don't give me a performance or a goal, I end up feeling disappointed.”

What do you mean by "a performance"?

“He needs to fight like all the others fight.”

Why do you think he's given up?

“I don't want to believe he's given up but he has to show me in training and everything else. If he gives up, I have 25 other players who want to play.”

Regarding your change of heart about Hummels, did the club management put pressure on you?

“No, I haven't spoken to anyone.”

How have the players responded to the defeat?

“Hummels immediately apologised to everyone. He was really sorry. We'll see the team tomorrow. I react immediately. What's happened has been forgotten. We must keep on our toes. We have to play Cagliari now – a well-drilled side. We must stay focused.”

What's the atmosphere like in Cagliari?

“They're a team fighting to stay up. They play a very direct brand of football and we need to be aware of that.”

Can you tell us about Dybala's condition? Will he be a mainstay of the team next year too?

“He's not 100%. For me he'll be a mainstay next year. Roma are a different team with him. When he's in form he's worth the price of the ticket because he does things that nobody else does. He'll go on international duty now.”

Will you keep rotating the team? 

“It won't be the same rotation but we'll certainly have different starting line-ups with different players and different subs. It always depends on the game itself and what I see during the week. Everyone will be under the spotlight. It's up to me to see if any performance levels are dropping, which is normal, and make the necessary changes at the right time. We'll see from one game to the next.”

Have you noticed a lapse in concentration from the defence? Because when you mark zonally, everyone is in the box.

"No, we're man-marking. I'd picked tall players like Dovbyk, [Bryan] Cristante and Hummels to counter the threat posed by Athletic, but it wasn't possible during the match.”