Di Francesco: I’m pleased but not completely satisfied

"I’m pleased with the performance and how our play is progressing. I knew that we needed a few confidence-boosting victories to allow certain methods to sink in. The lads played well, even though I’m not completely satisfied because we must avoid being lax. We lost possession a few too many times."

Given the rotation in the last two games, is this proof your squad has strength in depth?

"Squad rotation is only justified when you win. It’s a physical thing in any case; you can’t make everyone play this type of football for three games back to back. At the beginning, I asked the club to give me a squad with two players for every position, above all to ensure we can do what we’re doing at the moment."

Did Edin Dzeko play well tonight?

"Dzeko played closer to goal this evening. But it wasn’t just tonight he did well, he also scored against Inter. It was a bit different for him against Atletico Madrid. Some matches are harder and you have to sacrifice yourself more. Edin understands that what he said at the end of the game was born out of frustration because he had so few touches on the ball."

Both flanks performed excellently today…

"In my idea of football, I always want the full-backs to put crosses in and attack the goal. We did this excellently on the left, but on the right also. I’m pleased with both wings. I was also happy with [Maxime] Gonalons; it was his first match today and he did well, always looking to play the ball forward. The way he goes about his work is excellent: he plays for the team and never for himself. We need this type of player. I was pleased with the squad in general tonight, apart from a few lapses when we risked letting them back into the game."

Your plans seem to be coming off well at the moment…

"The players who haven’t been involved recently have been trying loads of things out in training that have then been implemented in games. With a big squad, a coach must do well to focus on those who aren’t playing as well."

Is the team finally getting that consistency you’ve been calling for?

"When you play a lot of games, there’s the advantage of being able to improve all the players’ fitness. We kicked pre-season off with tough fixtures straight away and the squad hadn’t fully taken on board what I wanted from them yet. Nevertheless, these matches give you strength, as did the game against Inter because we didn’t deserve to lose that one. We’re possibly the side that has hit the woodwork most often. When you create that many chances, it means something has clicked in the players’ heads."

Could Roma fight for the title?

"We should have been fighting for it from the start, but we were fourth and fifth after two matches. We’ll do our talking on the pitch and let the opinions circulate. We have to put in solid performances like this one, win and take home the three points."