Gandini: We have to dig deep to turn things around

The loss at the Stadio Olimpico was the Giallorossi's sixth straight league game without a win, a disappointing run of form that Gandini admitted is starting to weigh heavily on the players and the staff.

"Unfortunately, this spell has lasted longer than we thought it was going to," Gandini said. "The team is struggling, it has lost confidence and the poor results have generated even more uncertainty.

"It was a completely different performance on Wednesday. We really struggled in the first half today, then we had the chance to take the game in a different direction and we failed to take it.

"This is a tough time for us and we – the team, the coach and the management – need to come together and keep working on the things that allowed us to achieve qualification for the Champions League knockout stages. I think perhaps that took it out of us a bit, because since then the team has lacked vibrancy and confidence. Right now we have the third-best defence in Serie A and only the eighth-best attack – that doesn’t live up to our expectations. We want to turn it around."

How do you begin to do that?

"We need to focus on the day-to-day, on the details. We need to show concentration across the board – that has never been lacking from the club. We know that this team has been put together to be successful. We’re a good side. The performances need to live up to the standards we expected when the team was assembled."

Will you speak with the coach?

"Monchi has regular meetings with everyone on the technical side of things. The issue isn’t with the coaching and playing staff – it’s a group thing. The group is made up of the players, the coach, the coaching staff and the medical staff and we all need to push in the right direction in order to rediscover the form that took us into the Champions League last 16."

It’s difficult to explain the loss of form – particularly the first-half performance tonight. Do you understand the reasons behind it?

"Nobody can be sure. There have definitely been some unexpected results that have undermined the team’s confidence. We suffered from the unusual winter break more than others, with the foreign players having to deal with playing matches throughout the festive period. It meant we lost a bit of balance.

"In January we returned to Serie A action with a big game against Inter, who nicked an equaliser in the closing stages, and that put the brakes on us just as we were beginning to believe we were a great team. We had got a bit of that back on Wednesday. We need to tackle this problem as one, from the president down. We can’t continue the way we have been for the past month. We are confident that we can get our season back on track as soon as possible."

We are at a loss to explain the crisis. Are there lots of reasons or just one?

"There are lots of potential causes, but the only thing we can do – both individually and at group level – is look at ourselves and figure out where the motivation is lacking. We need to get that back quickly and start showing we’re worthy of representing Roma once again. This club is on the up and the technical side needs to reflect that. We need to rediscover the confidence we had for the majority of the first half of the season."

Were you already aware of this or have you come to these conclusions as a result of this defeat?

"Our policy has always been the same. We had a tough time between Christmas and New Year and there was some dialogue with the team then. The sporting director had a full and frank discussion with the squad and we didn’t get the reaction we were expecting. The team needs to get back to being what it was before. It has everything it needs to do that in the current squad.

"We have confidence that the coach and the players can get us back into the position we need to be. The only solution is to get our heads down and work hard, keep the talking to a minimum and respond with actions in training and on matchday."