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The boss discussed the good feeling around the club at the moment, while picking out certain players for particular praise and attention as his sights turn towards the challenges of 2017.
See what the coach had to say in the transcript below...
Interviewer: There was a chant from the old days yesterday...
Spalletti: "Yes, especially in the corner between Curva Sud and Monte Mario. They've been there for the whole of this season. They've shown they want to help us to perform better. They've been working hard together with us and yesterday they reaped the rewards. If they could do even better in the stands, the team would be able to achieve more."
A coach doesn't just pick the players; he needs to understand their psychology as well. What are your feelings towards this group?
"I feel close to them. We chose them and we trust them. They're all important for the squad and so we have to continue down this path. We won't change things following a mistake – like what happened with [Bruno] Peres yesterday. Afterwards, his contribution was exceptional; he ran hard and recovered more balls than anyone else. He made a mistake but these things can happen.
"Then you have Emerson, but that's a different story. He's a kid with quality and you'll all realise it. He's got a sweet strike on him as well. When he manages to get recognition, he'll have more experience by then and he'll feel free to express himself; you'll see the kind of guy he's become. Generally, Roma aren't the ideal team to develop young talent and allow them to make mistakes and pick up experience. Certain things are easier to do when you're at Udinese or Empoli. It's easier to allow players to express themselves there."
Let's speak about Federico Fazio as well. You wanted him when you were at Zenit; you mentioned that before buying him. He brings a sense of calm to the backline.
"Not only tranquillity and calmness, Fazio also has quality and personality. We've spoken about him already in the past. He moved over from Spain and wasn't playing that much, but his ability was clear for all to see. He had an important contribution yesterday. He was almost the heartbeat of the team. If you put him in defensive midfield, he'd be fantastic there as well."
It's shaping up to be a great Christmas for Roma.
"It's going to be a nice Christmas because the stadium was in a festive mood yesterday and we played well. We went about our job in the right way, which is the essence of what we said to each other after Turin. We said that we can't let the defeat get us down and we shouldn't throw all this progress away. And that's how it went. Yesterday was the complete opposite of what you might have thought eight days ago. That's often the case in football."
It was a mature performance from Roma.
"Yesterday's performance was a step forwards in terms of our maturity and determination. You can slip up in games against Juve, but you have to come out on top against Empoli and Cagliari. You need character to grab hold of the contests and overcome the opponents, even if they're well drilled. In some matches you simply have to say: I'm winning this and there's nothing else to it."
What's your overall assessment of the year?
"The players deserve credit because they've been professional ever since I arrived. It's up to them to take home the results after working their butts off every day. They have the right approach in the changing room; any playboys will get a swift talking to. This is a good, worthy squad. You've got nothing to worry about. We took a bit of time getting warmed up this season, but now we're much stronger than we were at the start, when we had a lot of injuries and we couldn't get into our groove straight away.
"However, we did well at that moment because the guys rolled their sleeves up in order to change something both individually and as a team, taking on board what was being said to them. We took a bit of time trying to come together as a team, but now we're capable of some good things."
What is needed to make the next step up?
"I could use Stephan El Shaarawy as an example. Yesterday he was coming onto balls in a way that, looking at his attributes, he hasn't done before. We need to add determination to the talented players we have. It's similar with him to what I often say about [Edin] Dzeko. Dzeko could have scored two or three yesterday. From his perspective, he always gives it his all in everything he does. However, you can sometimes give it your all but there's also something else which gives you the key to the result."
Have you got any seasonal wishes for the squad and for the fans?
"Many of us don't put family before work but work before family. Our wishes are always the same. If we manage to stay united and focused on what we're trying to do, we can make it feel like Christmas every day.
"It depends on our desire to stay together and work towards a common goal. If the support from that corner of the stadium increases to fill the entire arena, matches like yesterday will come out all the time."
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