Gerson: Our aim is to improve on last season - we have to be ambitious

Roma midfielder Gerson hopes to deliver on his promise this season - and in the process help drive the Giallorossi to improve on last season's exploits.

The Brazilian midfielder endured a difficult first season in the Italian capital, struggling both to find his best position and earn regular playing time. But now, with a new perspective on his situation and a new coach to guide him, the youngster is adamant he can start to produce his best football for the club.

Read everything Gerson had to say in an exclusive interview with Roma's in-house television channel...

Q: The new league season begins in a few days. How are you feeling going into it?

Gerson: “We feel very good, the team are training well, the squad feel united, we’re working well together and we’re 100% committed. Clearly we all want to have a good campaign and if possible improve on last season. That means winning the title which is a very ambitious target.

"We’ll take things one game at a time, we’re focused on playing well and beating Atalanta in our opening match to go on and have a great season.”

The team has changed somewhat compared to last season, especially with a new head coach. How has it been working with the new coach, Di Francesco?

“The team has changed a bit but to be honest the players that have joined are at the same level as those who have departed. The new coach Di Francesco is doing a good job. He’s come in and already had a big impact on the team. He’s doing a good job and we the players are helping him just as he’s helping us and things are going well.”

Di Francesco spoke to you a lot during pre-season and gave you plenty of encouragement. What does he want from you specifically?

“Sure, he speaks to me quite a lot. But it’s not just me, he speaks to all of the players, so that we can all give 100% in training sessions. He speaks to the players and they speak to him too, be it about things we think we should do or if we have any questions for him. He always makes time to explain things as clearly as possible.”

On a personal level, how much progress do you feel you’ve made?

“Things are going a lot better. My mindset has changed a great deal since last season. I’m looking to learn more all the time. I hope to always do my best and listen to the more experienced players who always want to help. Ultimately I’m giving everything to try and make sure things go as well as possible.”

You operated in several different positions in midfield last term. Di Francesco, meanwhile, has picked you consistently in a three-man midfield. Is that where you’re best suited to playing?

“Yes, that’s where I played at the start of my career but then there came a point when I moved. But it’s where I like playing most. I spoke to the coach and told him that’s where I feel comfortable playing. We understood one another, I’m playing there and trying to give 100%. I hope to produce even more, I’m working hard and am focused on making that happen.”

What have been the biggest issues you’ve faced during your time at Roma that have stopped you from showing what you can do?

“I used to play in Brazil which is a different brand of football. The footballing culture and intensity is different. I knew when I moved to Roma that the first year in Europe is always difficult with a lot of quality players who train hard. I knew it would be a tough season and that I’d come in for criticism and people wouldn’t necessarily say nice things about me. But it was a good thing for me because I tried to listen to the criticism in order to become a better player. I hope to perform better this season than I did last term. I hope to get more of a run in the team this season and make a contribution.”

How do you see this season on a personal level?

“I’m very optimistic. I’m training well and doing everything the coach asks of me. I’m focused on giving my all. I feel very good about this coming season - I have high hopes. I want to give Roma and their fans who have shown faith in me – along with my family – the success they deserve and reproduce the football that earned me a move to Roma in the first place.”

Turning our attention back to the league. On Sunday you have your first match, away at Atalanta. What sort of match do you expect?

“We go there knowing we’re in for a tough match because Atalanta have a lot of ability and intensity. But we’re training well and I’m ready to go there and match them blow for blow and we hope to come away with three points.”

Roma go into the season opener at Atalanta after a poor performance against Celta Vigo. The coach, Eusebio Di Francesco, was also disappointed with the display. What went wrong?

“I think we’ve all already moved on from the Celta friendly and put it out of our minds. We all know we got things wrong. We have a very tight-knit group and we’re united regardless of who’s in the team. Whether you’re in the team or not you win and lose as a team. We know we didn’t play well and we didn’t do ourselves justice in the friendly. But we’ve already moved on from that and have put in out of our minds since we returned to Rome. We’re training well and everyone is giving 100%. Now we’ll go to Bergamo and try to leave a different impression to the one we left against Celta.”

Di Francesco was very stern in his criticism but post-match Strootman revealed that you’d trained very hard and said that he was still very confident going forward…

“Yes, as I’ve said we’ve put that match out of our minds. We know we got things wrong but there’s a lot of intensity in training, it’s competitive and everyone is striving to get better. We know that this season will be tough. If it’s tough for us here at Roma, it will be equally so for the other teams as well. We go there looking to win and they will do likewise when they come to our place.”

Looking at how pre-season went as a whole, from Pinzolo through to America and the Spanish tour, what do you think Roma can achieve this season?

“The sky’s the limit. We’re prepared and we’ve done everything we need to. The league season starts on Sunday and we want to finish where lots of other people are striving for too.

"This great group of players is working very hard and we’re going out there to try and finish where people don’t think we can.”