Aleksandar Kolarov faced the media on Friday evening, following Roma's 3-2 defeat against Bologna at the Stadio Olimpico.

Musa Barrow scored twice for the visitors, as he and Riccardo Orsolini fired the visitors into an advantage that the Giallorossi could not overcome - despite an early own goal from Stefano Denswil and a second half header from Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Bryan Cristante was also sent off in the second half.

There's a hesitancy to your performances right now; what's going on?

"We've lost two games against Juventus, one against Torino and one against Sassuolo; clearly we haven't started 2020 well, but there are always moments during any season that don't go as you want. Now we need to keep our heads down and work harder - there's no other option."

Is it a mental issue, or a physical one?

"It's a bit of everything, when you are in a bad spell it's generally a bit of everything. As one of the senior members of the squad I need to stand beside my friends: right now we need to talk openly, we need to work hard, keep quiet and win the upcoming games. No drama, we are aware it's a tough moment and we need to push forward."

What did you need to do that you didn't do tonight? You didn't show you could hurt Bologna...

"We try to take on every game in that way, we know that they are playing well right now and we didn't press them well and after that it's difficult to take control when you are running backwards - because they've got players that can cause problems.

"We did not play well and Bologna deserved to win. We tried to step things up in the second half, but it wasn't enough."

Are you less organised defensively then you were a few months ago?

"Yes, since the start of the year we have conceded at least two goals a game. Clearly every single one of us needs to defend better, especially against players like Bologna have you run a lot. In moments like this, when things aren't going well, sometimes you lose a bit of clarity on certain things. This is a period we want to get out of quickly, we need to focus on ourselves, our work and focus on where we can get better. It's difficult, we know that.

"I'm a senior player and I wanted to speak to give a boost to the team. It's not a crisis; it's tough, we have a lot of pressure on us, our fans aren't happy - but that's football and now we need to see our true quality and get ourselves going again."

Is it a problem that you are the second top goalscorer after Dzeko in the squad?

"We need to create more chances and be more incisive. That's what the coach asks for, and we haven't been able to do that. But there's no alternative: we have to roll up our sleeves, work hard, try and understand where we are going wrong and bounce back - especially mentally."