Ivan Juric was interviewed at Roma’s pre-match press conference ahead of their Matchday 4 clash against Union Saint-Gilloise.
Here are our coach’s thoughts ahead of Thursday’s tie:
Did you get a vote of confidence phone call from the Friedkins? Also, why did you give your players a day off?
“I feel that they believe in me. Obviously we have to get results – we’re focused on that. The day off? It was planned way in advance. It was already in the schedule. Given that we’ve got all of these games, with the accompanying mental strain, it was right that we’d have a training session – a great one at that – the following day with those who hadn’t played the day before to let the team recharge, both physically and mentally, in order to prepare well for this game.”
Did they call you directly?
“Yes, we had a chat. It’s all clear – I don’t think that you need to delve too deep.”
How important is tomorrow’s game? How are you approaching it?
“It is indeed important – we need to win and put in a top performance. We need a morale boost. Sorry to go into certain incidents, because in the end it’s just talk and only results count, but looking back at the Verona match, a defeat wasn’t a fair result. Tomorrow we need to put in a proper performance, be focused and get a win – not just for our position in the group but also for our mental state.”
You managed to hit the nail on the head regarding Roma’s problems: what’s the reason behind the team’s inconsistencies?
“After the game in Florence I think that we had two good matches. Sometimes your overall perspective is conditioned by the result, but after analysing everything – what chances we gave them, the referee’s mistakes and how much we created – it was a very positive game.
“Obviously the most important thing is the result and nobody is happy if we don’t get a good one. The lads must stick to what they are doing, bringing even more concentration and healthy cynicism into their performances if they can, while trying to win football matches. However, in my opinion, they’ve got to believe in what they do.”
Roma see a lot more of the ball than the opposition, which isn’t traditionally a hallmark of your teams. Is it dictated by the fact that this team have more quality and are therefore obliged to play like this, or are the players still tied to the previous approach and are unable to move away from this type of football?
“If you look at my last 15 to 20 games at Torino you’ll see that we averaged 60% possession. This team can do both approaches very well and in some games we did exactly that – playing aggressively, winning the ball and dominating play. I’m a fan of everything. At the moment we’re not getting results, but this team are capable of everything – playing with bite, winning back the ball and mounting attacks, building well from the back, and keeping control of the game.”
A tactical question. Every time there was a high press – including with Daniele De Rossi in charge – it was a struggle to cover the opponents’ transitions. When play stretches this team struggles. Also, I’d like to ask you this: considering there are two matches close together are you thinking about using two different line-ups or just one, similar to tomorrow’s?
“If we’re talking about our game in Florence, I’ll admit that it was a disaster. I totally agree about the transitions – we were sleepy, unfocused and left large gaps. I’ve got nothing to add to that. I only remember the last counter attack from the Verona match – I don’t remember any others. There was a shot from a corner and another from just outside the box, and Mile [Svilar] had no saves to make – they had no chances.”
Roma received four shots on goal against Torino and seven against Verona. This is in line with how Daniele De Rossi fared in charge.
“In our last two matches the opposition didn’t have any counter attacks, except in our last game [against Verona] where we’d gone all-out to win. It was a completely different matter entirely against Fiorentina because the team weren’t focused at all. This is how I feel now.
“To be honest, we have to win tomorrow and we’re fully focused on tomorrow’s game. The lads need a win for a morale boost. In Verona, the lads knew that they were doing very well in terms of the football they were playing, and they were convinced that they could turn it around and win. We didn’t manage that and now we need to win tomorrow. We’ll do everything to get a victory and then we’ll think about Sunday.”
