Di Francesco's pre-Atalanta press conference in full

Read everything that coach Eusebio Di Francesco had to say ahead of Saturday's Serie A game against Atalanta.

The match at the Stadio Olimpico gets underway at 18:00 CET.

Before taking questions from journalists at his pre-match press conference, Di Francesco addressed the situation surrounding Radja Nainggolan.

"Before you ask me about Radja Nainggolan, I’ll say a few words and then we’ll talk about the game, which is much more important," De Francesco said. "The club has taken the standpoint, which I fully support and Radja has completely accepted, that he won’t be picked for the match against Atalanta tomorrow.

"This is a policy that applies across the board, should anyone from AS Roma or representing Roma make certain mistakes that are no longer acceptable. Anyone who makes even the slightest mistake will be treated in the same way. This is our policy. I don’t care what people have to say about this, I’m just telling you that Radja won’t be selected.

"Why have we made this announcement only today? I report these decisions when I come to these conferences. Sometimes you need time to think things over, as this is not a normal situation. The decision was made and it could have been on 1 January; there’s no way for you to know. We make our decisions together and we’re trying to give off a winning mentality, including in our behaviour and how we go about things."

Atalanta are riding high after making the Coppa Italia semi-finals, while Roma are enduring a tough spell. How much could that affect the game?

"They pulled off a great result by winning at Napoli, but they did lose their previous home game against Cagliari. That was a shock for them – it was a game they had dominated, in much the same way as we often do – but they got a huge boost with the win over Napoli. I have to say that they may well be the worst team we could face at a time when we’re struggling to score goals and get results. The only thing for us to do is to keep it even more compact, show even more determination and try to get the three points.

"We know that we’re up against a team that has made it hard for all the big sides, plus they’re a very physical side, they have a top coach and their morale is sky high at the moment. That said, we should have that same enthusiasm given that we can go within six points of the top with a game in hand. It’s a chance for us to continue moving forward and it’s possible that the other teams slip up, so it’s our duty to go for the win in this game.

"We’re facing a very good side so we’ll need massive support from our fans, because at a time like this – which I wouldn’t describe as a really difficult time, as I think Roma has known worse – we need a lot of support from the first minute to the last."

Does Atalanta’s playing style mean they could make it a tough match for you?

"I think we can cause Atalanta problems by going out and getting at them and doing as much as we can to play in their half of the pitch. It’s important that we try to keep the ball in their half as much as possible, because they’re the type of side that looks to press you high up the field. It’s something we’ve done a lot in recent games. Sassuolo didn’t have much possession, but the first thing on their minds was to go direct. They caused us a few issues in the first half and Atalanta’s high press could do the same. We need to keep playing in the same way, with the same mentality, and try to be as aggressive as possible in their half – that’s for sure."

Have you managed to pinpoint what the issues are in terms of scoring goals?

"We’re aware of the issues in attack and I think that trying to give a new answer every day is making a mountain out of a molehill. I have the stats from the season here – they’re important to me. If this team didn’t run, we wouldn’t have the best possession stats in the league. If we were unfit, we wouldn’t have as many shots on goal as Napoli with a game in hand, wouldn’t have the best defence in the league, wouldn’t spend a lot of time in the opposing half.

"You can have a look afterwards – it has all the answers. The area in which we’re falling short is goals scored, where we’re seventh in the league – that’s the most worrying stat from this spell. We just need to focus on getting the ball in the net right now. We’re created a great deal but our finishing hasn’t been good at all. That’s a fact. We’ve had as many shots as Napoli and they have scored a lot more than us, so that shows that there are some problems we need to address. I’m sure we’ll put it right on the pitch, starting tomorrow.

Will Daniele De Rossi be involved tomorrow?

"De Rossi definitely won’t be in the squad because when he tried to re-join the squad in training, he noticed a recurrence of the muscle pain he’d had earlier in the week."

Are you in agreement with Monchi on the team’s mentality?

"I do, but you don’t build a mentality in the good times alone. It’s something that you acquire as a result of negative spells too. This is probably the worst spell we’ve had since I became Roma manager in terms of the results, but we need to use that to get stronger. It may well be that we’ve dropped off a bit on a mental level, but at times that happens subconsciously. It’s up to myself, the sporting director and the club to help the team get back to the levels of focus and application we had previously.

"We’re falling short on a few small details which we weren’t getting wrong before, but I have to stress that there is a very fine line between winning a match and losing a match. We gave Sassuolo virtually nothing in the second half of that game, but we ended up conceding for 1-1 when we had chances to put the match to bed. We could be having a different conversation today. All we can do is keep our heads down, work hard and try to get the three points tomorrow."

You’ve conceded a lot of goals from set pieces and from close range recently. Does that mean you’re not reacting in the box?

"The majority of goals are scored from close range – if you concede them then it means you’ve reacted slowest. If you look at the Serie A goals stats, the vast majority have been scored from close range. We’ve made a few mistakes in terms of positioning, but we’ve done a lot right in that respect too. The plan was to make sure our positioning was spot on for the move [Simone] Missiroli scored from, but it came down to half a yard or so.

"As for the set pieces, we’ve tried man marking and we also switched to zonal marking for our last game, to show the guys that it’s not man marking or zonal marking that makes the difference – it’s about the level of concentration you have when you’re marking. The worst goals we’ve conceded in terms of concentration have come against Torino and Juve, so I hope that the work we’ve done this week means that doesn’t happen anymore. If your opponent is just better and gets up a metre higher than you, that’s fine – well done him. But that’s not what’s happened with the goals we’ve conceded recently. It was more about us switching off – these subconscious details can make all the difference, going back to what we were talking about with the winning mentality."

Kevin Strootman seems to be one of the players struggling most at the moment. Why do you think we’re not seeing the real Strootman?

"I think the more we speak about it, the worse it is. He’s a player with great charisma and strength and such an ability to pull through tough times. I hope he can show resilience. He’s shown himself to be a great professional and he’s training well. I’d invite you to look at his physical data from the games, because he always hits the heights from that standpoint. Obviously we expect more from all the players – better passing, more assists – but I’m sure that with dedication and hard work we’ll get there. He won’t do it alone, though – it’ll be thanks to the whole team."

Francesco Totti was with Monchi when he spoke to the squad. How important is Totti’s role at times like these?

"Francesco is essential. He was with the sporting director because he represents the club and – more importantly – because he knows the players very well. He can help with the dynamics of the dressing room and all the little issues because he knows all that like the back of his hand. He experienced it for years and knows these players. As I’ve said before, it’s a great advantage for us to have Francesco – I’m not just saying that. He’s doing important work as a director. He’s helping us and I’m sure that we’re helping him with his future career."

How is Patrik Schick dealing with this difficult period? Will he start tomorrow?

"He definitely won’t start with Edin Dzeko – it will be one or the other. I think that all of us – myself included – heaped too much pressure on him. I was being asked all manner of things about Schick constantly, on a daily basis, even when he wasn’t playing two months ago. In my eyes, the first thing to do is to help him develop psychologically and get him to realise where he is. That’s the most important thing. We need to do it slowly and intelligently, because he’s an asset to the game. I can assure you that he has great ability – and I say that after a bad performance against Sassuolo. In terms of the position, I believe that a player can control a ball well regardless of whether he’s a little further to the left or right. Of course, it’s different if the system doesn’t allow those individual qualities to come through. But when a player is getting the simple things wrong it shows that there is a problem to be overcome. I’m convinced that with hard work, willing and humility, he’ll show us that he’s the player we saw at Sampdoria, where he was in and out of the team, came off the bench a lot and didn’t start much. I have to analyse all of that, but he’s a very important player to us."