Pellegrini: I want to show what I can do this season

Read everything midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini had to say ahead of Thursday's Europa League tie with Istanbul Basaksehir.

Roma need to avoid defeat to keep alive their hopes of progressing in the competition.

Are you aware of the importance of this game?

“Yes, it's crucial. It's a tough game but we're determined to win it. Reaching the knockout stages was the first small target we set ourselves this season. It's become a bit harder now compared to at the start but we can't worry about that. A win would be a huge morale boost. We always set out to win and this is a key game.”

How's your fitness now?

“I feel very good. I've worked really hard to get back to full fitness quickly but it's not easy to get there straight away. I'm pleased with getting 70 minutes under my belt on Sunday – that felt like a small victory for me. All the hard work has paid off.”

Does this feel like the season you've really established yourself and reached your full potential?

“I'm very keen to do well this season and I'm very ambitious. I hope it will be a big season for me but I'm not so arrogant to think that I've reached my full potential. I'll always keep working to improve because your full potential is an abstract idea anyway – you can do it by giving your all in training day in day out.”

You've supplied lots of assists this season. What do your team-mates say about that? Do you think you need to score more?

“I love setting up my team-mates and we often talk and joke about it, especially with Edin [Dzeko] – he's always asking for the ball so he can score! I've always said that an assist is like a goal for me but I'd like to score more too because the feeling you get when your team-mates come over to celebrate is something else. Ideally I'd like to do both!”

Do you like playing in different positions or would you prefer to specialise in one?

“It's definitely an advantage being able to play in different positions as you have more opportunities to play and that's the most important thing for us players. You only learn by being on the pitch, especially when you're young – you learn from your mistakes. I like being able to play in different positions because it helps me to improve as a player. When you focus on one position, that's all you learn to do. When you play in a different one, you improve in different areas which can help you in your usual position.”

Do you think you and Nicolo Zaniolo are the cornerstones of Roma's future?

“It's not easy to say something that. We're young players and we're not really thinking about what will happen in the future. Personally I think about what I'm doing now and I concentrate on that because if you want to perform well you have to be 100% focused. We've never spoken about it but if that's how it turns out we'd be honoured. We're at a great club and we can become great players here.”

Could looking back at the win over Basaksehir in Rome be helpful tomorrow or counter-productive?

“We know they're in a good spell of form and they have experienced players but we want to win so we're not thinking about it. We have to focus on the task at hand and go out there set on winning – that's all we really need to do.”

Is there any opponent in particular you'll be wary of tomorrow?

“We watched lots of videos this morning. Their right-back pushes up a lot and we must be careful in that area. They're good at bringing the ball up on that side and getting crosses in from the byline. They're playing really well but we want to win this game and hopefully we will.”