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FONSECA'S Pre-Atalanta press conference in full

Coach Paulo Fonseca faced the media on Friday afternoon at Trigoria, to preview the side's trip to face Atalanta in Bergamo.

The game at the Gewiss Arena gets underway at 20:45 local time.

Here's what the boss had to say ahead of the game...

How do you think tomorrow will be different to the reverse fixture?

"I'm expecting an extremely difficult match. Atalanta are a superb side, very aggressive in defence and with real quality up front. They have great players and a great coach. This is definitely one of the toughest matches we have."

Have you considered switching things around tactically?

"We'll see tomorrow. We've changed formation in some of our other games but what matters is we don't change the basic principles we believe in. I understand that after two defeats people start to cast doubts but if we believe in our work and if we look at all the good things we've done in the past, we can't be doing everything wrong. We have to get back to doing the good things we've shown we're capable of."

Could Gianluca Mancini play in midfield?

"That's one option we have. We found a really good balance when he played in midfield and it's a decent possibility."

Carles Perez looked good in the last game. Could he be ready to start in Bergamo?

"I must say Carles played well against Bologna when he came on. He's adjusting to Italian football, which is very different to the Spanish league. This game against Atalanta is a rather particular match and I don't think it's the right time to throw him into the starting line-up. It would place a lot of responsibility on his shoulders and it wouldn't be easy."

Gianluca Petrachi said the team lost their personality after the derby. Do you agree with that?

"I know there will be lots of questions about our sporting director's press conference but I don't want to comment on what he said. There's no problem, no split. We're all working together to ensure we produce a good performance tomorrow."

Bruno Peres is finding form again but you said he needs to work on the defensive side of his game. Would it not be an idea to play him in a more attacking role?

"That's tricky at the moment. It would mean changing lots of things in the team that we could do without. We need him as a full-back at the moment."

How are Cengiz Under and Justin Kluivert?

"They've played well. It's true that Kluivert wasn't at the same level after his injury as he was earlier in the season and after [Nicolo] Zaniolo's injury Cengiz had two good games, but after two defeats we need to focus on everyone, not just one or two players. Right now we need experience in the team. It's harder for young players in moments like this. We'll see who plays tomorrow."

What do you think about the proposals to change the VAR rules?

"I'm in favour of anything that can improve the game but I must admit I haven't understood all the details so it would be better for me to talk about it another time."

If Mancini were to play in midfield, who would be more likely to play in defence, Federico Fazio or Mert Cetin? And can we presume that Bruno Peres will start since you said you need him as a full-back?

"We'll see tomorrow but they all have a good chance of playing."

You've always said you want to see courage from your team. What went wrong against Bologna in that sense?

"Courage is always necessary to play in my team and we've shown courage even when we've lost. It wasn't easy against Juventus after conceding twice in the first eight minutes. If you lack courage against them, you can end up conceding four or five. The performance in our last game was the result of what happened against Sassuolo - that really affected us. We stopped applying pressure and taking the initiative, all because of the previous game. I've played football myself and it's easy to understand when that happens."

How will you cope with Atalanta's pressing game when you're in possession?

"That's a key question for this match. We don't have much time to think and decide. Our decision-making needs to be quick. They close down really aggressively when we start building moves and win lots of balls allowing them to counter. There's not a lot of time to think and decide. We've worked on these things and getting it right is important if we want to play well."

How is Amadou Diawara coming along?

"He's improving by the day and next week could be decisive. He's working well and I speak to him and the doctor every day. Hopefully he'll be able to start training with us again next week so that we can really see how he's doing. The signs are very good at the moment though."

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has often proved important for you as he can score and help his team-mates. What's his best position?

"If I answer that question, you'll all know our team for tomorrow! Miki is a very important, experienced player who makes the right decisions. He can play on the wing, in the hole, or in a different system he can play as a second striker. I think he could even play in goal because he's one of the most intelligent players I've ever met. His best positions are as an attacking midfielder or a winger coming inside."
Source: As Roma
Friday February 14, 2020
 
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