Ranieri speaks ahead of the Derby

This is what the boss had to say...

Let's start with the players. Apart from Paulo Dybala and Saud Abdulhamid, is everyone else fit?

“Yes, they're all available for selection.”

What sort of Lazio team are you expecting after their trip to Norway?

“I'm expecting the Lazio team we're all familiar with: strong, energetic, with talented individuals and good team play. I saw the game. When you go to play in those parts of the world with the cold it can be hard. But I think Lazio can turn it around in the second leg at the Olimpico.”

Lazio will have Valentin Castellanos fit again for the derby. Could that impact your choices in defence?

“No, one player or another player won't change the way I think or the way I approach the game. We know Lazio play as a team and play direct, getting lots of numbers forward. We know what to expect.”

How important is this derby for the league table and for you personally? You have the chance to make it six wins from six derbies.

“From the moment I arrived I've always said I'll pick a team to try to win and I'll do the same on Sunday. It doesn't mean we'll win; it means we'll fight to win. Just as we did against Juventus. They did well in the opening minutes when they got in our faces and pushed us back. We did a good job of making them play the way we wanted. Then we came into the game more and almost took the lead, which they then did, and we managed to find an equaliser. That means we have a strong team that believe in their ability and their aspirations, which is to do the best we possibly can. As I've always said, I can't promise anything. I like getting on with the job and saying things quietly, with the aim of achieving everything we can. On Sunday we'll do everything we can, then we have to see what Lazio can do as well.”

What's Bryan Cristante's best quality? Are you counting on him for the future? And can we rule out Patrick Vieira as a possible future coach?

“I said I wasn't going to talk about this topic anymore so I'll just answer about Cristante. He's a very good player, an all-round midfielder, a ball-winner who can get forward and score goals. He's always a possible starter, then it depends on the type of game I want to play – that's another matter.”

Have you noticed a different attitude from Lorenzo Pellegrini, as you did before the reverse fixture?

“I'll tell you that afterwards because if I tell you now you'll assume he's starting. You've already put him in the starting line-up so I'll just keep quiet and then make my choices.”

Will this be your last derby only as Roma coach?

“Yes, I've already said I'm retiring and I'm retiring. It's my last derby as coach. The nicety wasn't lost on me...”

The gap between Roma and Lazio is different now to what it was last time round. Do you deserve some credit for that or is this the real difference between the two teams?

“It's hard to say what the real level of the teams is. Roma have been through some ups and downs, for whatever reasons. Lazio weren't really rated by anyone. People thought [Marco] Baroni was a fallback option but they're having an excellent season, playing good football, scoring lots of goals and they deserve their league position. We've spent the whole time playing catch-up. Now we have the last seven games. We'll keep pushing as hard as we can and pull out all the stops in this final phase then see where we end up.”

How big a gap is there between Roma and the teams looking to get into the Champions League? And what will it take to close that gap?

“I said when I arrived that Rome wasn't built in a day, which is a wonderful English idiom. They mean the Roman Empire took centuries to build. It won't take a century to get Roma back in the Champions League. We're doing everything we can to get close and see how far we can go. Then it will be up to the owners and the new coach to keep building so that we can realise the chairman's dream.”

What's your assessment of the January signings?

“I think, considering the difficulties we had and the UEFA restrictions, we made some really good choices during the January window with the players we managed to bring in. I think they're Roma players. Of course you can always improve. It will be up to the new coach to determine whether they are suitable for the Roma team of the future. I think they're players who can be relied upon at any time.”

Are the players aware of how important this derby is for you as you could bow out with six straight derby wins? And will Roma's future depend partly on yourself?

“I've already spoken about this at length in an interview. It will depend on the things I said there. Sunday will be an important game, a difficult game. I always say it's water under the bridge. I don't look at what I did in the past or what we did against Juventus last Sunday. We'll all be trying to do our best. I'll be happy if the lads perform well and fight like mad. Then if we're able to win, even with a bit of luck, I'll be happy.”

What role can Leandro Paredes have in Roma's present and future? And can you tell us something more about your brother?

“My brother is just like me but two years older. That's my brother. So you could have mistaken him having dinner with someone, but since he's not well you can't have mistaken him for anyone. It wasn't me so... He's called Carlo. You want to know about the others? There are lots of others...

“As for Paredes, I think he's a fantastic playmaker. He knows where to put the ball. He knows when to hold onto the ball, when to play it forward, when to up the tempo. I consider him an important player. It will depend on the next coach and how he wants to play. I don't think there are many better players than him around. He's a World Cup winner and still plays for Argentina.”

Could Lucas Gourna-Douath be a good option for the future?

“He came in and immediately did well – I was happy with his performance against Venezia. Then, like with all things, he had a bit of a dip because you change playing style, country, way of thinking, playing and training, everything. I worked with him a lot to help him improve certain areas of his game which I won't name here and recently he's been looking like the player he was at the start again. He's getting to grips with the work we're doing, he's getting to grips with the tactical side and if I put him on against Juventus it's because I thought he could perform well, which he did. We'll see about him joining permanently. He's a young lad with a good future.” 

Would you say you're favourites for this game given Lazio's form? And if the roles were reversed, would you have preferred to play on Monday? 

“We've had away games like that ourselves when we got back at 3 or 4 in the morning and we didn't tell anyone and we had to play. 

“I don't think Lazio are in bad form – otherwise they wouldn't have gone and beaten Atalanta in Bergamo playing as well as they did. I expect a feisty encounter. For all we know, they may have gone to Bodo thinking about the game with us, knowing they can turn the tie around in the return leg. I'm expecting it to be a great game and very tight till the end. Above all, I hope to see fair play between the teams and between the fans. That's important. I've been around a while and once upon a time there used to be great banter. It should remain great banter – Romans can be brilliant at that.”

Do you think Nicolo Pisilli and Tommaso Baldanzi could score more? And what do they need to be more decisive in front of goal?

“Experience. They need to play more, that's all. They're both Roma players of the future. They time their runs well. Baldanzi has a freshness and sharpness about him. He's unpredictable. Pisilli knows when to get forward and when he shoots he wants to rip the net but he just needs to relax because he'll score goals – I'm sure of that. He's got the lot. Timing your runs is the most important thing for a midfielder.”