RANIERI: "THE FANS EXPECT US TO KEEP ON PUSHING"
Claudio Ranieri spoke in the pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday's match against Udinese.
“The Sampdoria game was a confidence boost for us all, but for now we need to keep doing what we’re doing.”
About Udinese that are unbeaten under Igor Tudor: “They’ll be our toughest opponents in this spell. We’ll be up against a resolute side who will keep it tight and then look to break. I’m very worried. We need to show clear heads, intelligence and patience and make sure we don’t get caught on the counter, because that’s exactly what they want: to keep it tight and then break."
About the Champions League: "We need to be very switched on. I need the fans to help us – they need to get behind us and realise that this is a fundamental game for us. We’re in the hunt for the Champions League places – that’s where we want to finish and the fans share that. We need them behind us, cheering us on. That said, we do need to be patient. We can’t get carried away, otherwise we’ll play into Udinese’s hands.”
About Edin Dzeko who hasn’t scored at home in a year: “You always miss the goals of your main goalscorer when they’re not flowing. When a coach puts a team together, you see the quantity of goals that come from certain positions. If a player gets you used to 18 or 20 goals, that’s the amount you expect and if they don’t come, you feel the absence. That said, he’s determined and I’m convinced that he’ll rediscover his scoring form in the run-in. He’s still working hard to play well and that’s important.”
On Bryan Cristante: “He’s a player with massive potential. He made a name for himself at Atalanta but I knew him before that. He’s a box-to-box player – he has quality, gets forward well and has the potential to score lots of goals. I like having him in my team.”
On Francesco Totti’s development in his role: “He’s the right person because he loves Roma. He’s capable and he’s making progress, step by step. Nobody is born knowing it all – he is really determined to achieve big things and I hope he does that. He’s the right person, but we have to wait for him and allow him to develop.”
He was asked if Daniele De Rossi can play two matches back to back: “Daniele can play and that’s the most important thing. We’ll need to be alert because they’ll want to lure us into their trap and then break. If they have 60 or 70 yards to run in to they can cause us problems with their pace.”
(Photo Getty Images)
