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Garcia: We showed grit and togetherness

Garcia: We showed grit and togetherness

Rudi Garcia believes Roma put on a determined and united front against Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo this evening



The French coach was satisfied after the final whistle in the 0-0 draw in Naples, underlining his players' team ethic and excellent defensive organisation against one of the best attacks in the league.

"We showed guts and quality in defence," declared Garcia in his post-match analysis. "Perhaps we could have done more but I think a draw against this Napoli outfit is a decent result."

An important result, but the team didn't create many chances tonight.
"The plan was to start strongly and then set ourselves up in defence. Mohamed Salah and Edin Dzeko both tried their luck in the early stages of the game and I can't remember any real danger for us in the first half. It's always tough to play at the San Paolo and let's not forget Inter, Juventus and Fiorentina have all lost here. It's true we dropped off a bit in the second half, but I should say that we did manage to score a goal that was then disallowed – they claimed the ball had gone out. I respect the linesman's decision but I'm not sure the whole of the ball had crossed the line."

Your side was living dangerously at the end of the game.
"We defended well throughout the game. We knew Napoli are most dangerous down their left side. I'm pleased that we were very solid and didn't give an inch to the opposition, trying to play good football at the same time."

What is the objective now?
"The aim is to get through to the next round of the cup on Wednesday and beat Genoa at home on Sunday. Once again, we showed grit and defensive nous today – this side doesn't lack self-belief. I'm delighted our goalkeeper and defenders played well, they've been criticised sometimes this season."

What can you say on Edin Dzeko and Alessandro Florenzi?
"Edin fought for every ball and sacrificed himself for the team. We knew we wouldn't have a lot of shooting opportunities while trying to limit Napoli's attacks. One goal would have been enough to win this game and we came close. Florenzi played well too, he gave everything he had in defence. We should remember that Napoli put out the reserve team on Thursday in the Europa League while we emptied the tank against BATE."

Why is the team constantly going from high to low?
"It's partially due to the fact that we're playing every three days. Confidence is a key factor. I'm doing my best every day to get the message through to them that they've got bags of quality and they have nothing to fear. The players need to know that we can play well, even when we're low on energy. Some of the players are finding it tough to play so many games in close succession and it's hard to stay in peak condition. We missed Gervinho out there and Salah is just coming back to full fitness. With luck on our side, we could have picked up a couple more points over the last few games."