DI FRANCESCO: "WE MUST AIM TO REACH THE NEXT ROUND"
Coach Eusebio Di Francesco wants his side to do everything they can to reach the next round when they face Torino in the TIM Cup on Wednesday. The game, which comes amidst a run of important league matches, may see Di Francesco make a number of changes to his starting XI - but the Italian insisted that should not be taken as a sign the team are taking the competition lightly.
“Regardless of the fact that I'll make a few changes – as I have done for all of our Serie A TIM and European games so far – we must aim to reach the next round," Di Francesco told Roma TV. "Not underestimating the importance of any competition is good for our mentality.”
Could winning the TIM Cup help build a winning mentality?
“I believe that aiming to win every competition you play in is the right way to grow and improve and that's why we absolutely must not underestimate the TIM Cup.”
Roma have three games in seven days including last Saturday's game. Can we expect to see a much-changed side from the one you picked against Cagliari?
“You'll see a starting line-up with players who have played some of our previous games and some who have started lots of matches too. I think it's almost impossible to play three games back to back with the same players.”
Will you change things around up front?
“As Edin [Dzeko] has had a bit of flu in the last few days and [Gregoire] Defrel is unavailable, the idea is to start with Schick at centre forward.”
Will [Lukasz] Skorupski get a start in goal since Alisson has played every game so far?
“Yes, Lukasz will definitely start this one. It's a big opportunity for him to show people what he's about. He's always trained well and he's an excellent keeper. I hope he has a good game tomorrow, then he'll perhaps be able to play a few more in the next rounds.”
What's your view of Torino? They have some great players in their squad…
“Torino have caused problems for all the big teams and drew with Inter at San Siro. With no European football they'll be keen to do well in the TIM Cup so they'll field their strongest line-up. We must be very wary: they may have lost their last game at home to Napoli but before then they were playing very well indeed. They maybe struggled a little in the first half against Napoli but [Sinisa] Mihajlovic's side are in excellent physical shape.”
Does the appeal of a possible quarter-final with Juve give you added incentive?
“Let's concentrate on Torino for now – that must be our incentive, regardless of who we have to play. That's how I prepared for the game against Cagliari, when everyone thought [Radja] Nainggolan wouldn't play. By playing him I tried to make people realise that we must play every single game with the right attitude.”
(Photo LaPresse)
