Spalletti's pre-Atalanta press conference in full

The game at the Stadio Olimpico gets underway at 15:00 CST.

You slipped to a late defeat at Atalanta earlier in the season. How have Roma changed since that match?

“Since the game earlier in the campaign we’ve worked hard and focused on our own season. In my opinion, we’ve become a better side. There are still some things that aren’t perfect. In the first game we got the second half wrong, especially the very end of the match. We failed to take our chances and Atalanta were very good. There are plenty of potential pitfalls in tomorrow’s match – Atalanta have maintained great form in the league. Roma will need to produce a top performance, but I’m convinced that we’ll step up.”

How much will Alejandro Gomez’s absence affect Atalanta?

“It’s a big loss because he’s a great player, a fantastic player. He’s good enough for a top team. It’s a boost for us if Papu [Gomez] is out. Have I tried to sign him in the past? I prefer to speak about [Diego] Perotti, [Stephan] El Shaarawy and [Mohamed] Salah because they’re my players and I believe they’re better than the rest. Gomez is a player I looked at closely when I was at Zenit. He’s a great player and I like him. If the chance had arisen, I’d have liked to sign him. That said, we’re happy with how the players we have here are performing. What do I think about [Franck] Kessie? He’s a good player and if Roma sign him the club will try to make him even better. Everybody knows that Atalanta are very good at signing top players. Credit to [Gian Piero] Gasperini and the whole club."

What is your reaction to AC Milan being officially bought out by new Chinese owners?

“China is a global player in football now and they want to give their country power and visibility through football. They have the economy to allow them to invest heavily in football and they’ve been able to bring many players to the country. The fact that they’ve bought a club like AC Milan, where [Silvio] Berlusconi revolutionised modern football and ushered in the era of football marketing, shows just how much they’re looking to the future. I think it’s going to be difficult to build an AC Milan like the club of the Berlusconi era. They might well do it, but that AC Milan will always be Berlusconi’s AC Milan – he’s inextricably linked to that side. Clubs in China have signed lots of big players, but the fact that Italian football is generating interest among global investors shows that we have something in Italy worth exporting."

What did you make of Juventus’ win over Barcelona and what effect might that have on the title race?

“Juventus played the perfect game. At times it was incredible. They restricted some fantastic attacking talent to the bare minimum, with [Gianluigi] Buffon and the rest of the defence stepping up at the decisive moments. It was a great all-round performance. They’ve shown that they can maintain a high standard for a whole season. They identified the way forward at the start of the year and they’ve done very well to follow that. From our side, we’ve done our job – Napoli too. They’ve had the best of our rivalry but we’ve shown that we’re able to keep on their trail. They’re not giving off any signs of nerves so it’s hard to say if the Champions League will cause problems for them in the league or not.”

Juventus’ achievements in Europe are leading some to give more credit to how Roma have performed this season. Could that lead to a rethink on your own future?

“My contract isn’t waiting inside an Easter egg. We need to focus on working hard and trying to do our best. It’s not mathematically over for us so let’s keep trying in order to finish the season as well as possible. For the moment we still have an opening and we’ll hold onto that until the end.”

How are Daniele De Rossi and Emerson Palmieri?

“Emerson Palmieri won’t be in the squad. De Rossi is recovering, but we’ll have to see how he gets on in training and how much he’s improved today. I hope to have him available because he’s an important player, so we’ll do everything we can to get him back.”

Is there some achievement or event that could see you stay at Roma next season?

“I’ve always looked at things in the same way over the past two seasons. That’s the only way to evaluate the situation and draw worthwhile conclusions. There are other contracts that are important, such as Daniele De Rossi’s. He’s a great player, an important player. The risk is the club ends up with the same regrets that AC Milan had when they saw [Andrea] Pirlo sign for Juventus. These things are vital to help a club continue growing. There are lots of good coaches about, and younger ones than me at that.”