RANIERI PRE-MATCH PRESS CONFERENCE
Claudio Ranieri spoke in the pre-match press conference on the eve of the Marassi's match between Sampdoria and Roma, Serie A TIM 2018/2019 31th Round.
On the match against the Blucerchiati: “I have a lot of time for Giampaolo. His teams play very good football and press well. We must be careful and move the ball up the pitch quickly, otherwise we'll be playing into their hands.”
The Giallorossi's coach gave an update on the injury situation: “[Davide] Santon will have a scan today and I fear it could be serious. He's indestructible: he plays through anything and never stops so if he did, it must be something serious. [Diego] Perotti's problem is not serious but he's not available for this game. [Stephan] El Shaarawy is fit and he'll be in the squad. [Javier] Pastore is working on his fitness but isn't ready yet. [Alessandro] Florenzi will return to group training next week.”
On the last match against Fiorentina: “I understand that a point may seem like a small return but given the situation we were in, the fact we played as well as we did – and improved in the second half – shows the lads are in good shape, physically at least. Sadly it's often the mental side that makes you feel tired or less positive. However, we came from behind twice and that shows the lads are doing well mentally and I'm very happy with them.”
He was asked if Daniele De Rossi is ready to play 90 minutes: “We have to see who is available. A lot of the lads don't have 90 minutes in them yet. Daniele wanted to play the other day. He's a fighter and he can help us a lot in the run-in.”
On Nicolo Zaniolo: “He has said time and time again that he would love to stay at Roma. The lad has a contract until 2023. I understand that these things are very interesting to a lot of people but the club has no intention of selling him and he has no intention of leaving. Let’s leave it until July for a new contract. Right now it isn’t possible to extend it, the regulations don’t allow it. Let’s all stay calm. The lad does not want to leave and Roma want to keep him – I hope that this will be end of this discussion.”
Against Sampdoria will play Antonio Mirante: “Mirante played well on Wednesday and I think I'll stick with him. Otherwise they would both be unhappy. I'm reluctant to change. I wanted to give Olsen a bit of a rest but I rate him very highly.”
About the race for the fourth place: “I think the Fiorentina game was a confidence boost for us and I want to see more of that against Sampdoria. It will an important match to understand what happened against Fiorentina.”
On Edin Dzeko: “Edin played well on Wednesday – he showed desire and determination. He didn't score and we all know how important goals are for strikers. He hasn't scored as many this season but strikers can have a so-so season. His movement is good and he helps the team. Perhaps he's been a little selfish on a couple of occasions but strikers are a bit like that: when things are going well, they'll pass to a team-mate; when they're not going so well, they're desperate to score. I'm happy with him and I hope he's ok because he's taken a lot of blows.”
On Lorenzo Pellegrini?
“He's ok but he can't play 90 minutes yet. I have to decide whether to start with him or use him from the bench. You all saw how the game changed when he came on. He's very clever and he can play in the hole, which is a difficult position. He's quick enough to get away from his marker and has stamina. He's an important part of this Roma team.”
(Photo Getty Images)
