Luciano Spalletti's pre-Palermo press conference in full

Luciano Spalletti sat down on Saturday afternoon to preview the Serie A game against Palermo with the media.

The match in Sicily gets underway at 20:45 CET on Sunday.

As usual, the boss began by giving an update on the availability of his squad.

“I’ve nothing new to add. All the players are available except for [Alessandro] Florenzi. By the way, I’d like to wish him a happy birthday; we await his return and care about him.”

See what else he had to say in the transcript below.

How tough will the game at the Barbera be?

“There are factors which could generate new impetus, such as the new Palermo president. We know, however, what we need to do here. We have a clear objective: to win the game. Then whether we manage to or not depends. Either way, the strength we have means we can go and play there, and try to get a result.”

After a series of defeats, how do you get out of this rut?

“The only way is to win the next game. When you’re on a losing run, the best antidote is exactly that – winning again and re-establishing that self-assurance among the players, of the strength they have. It’s clear that we need to assess other games, we’ve not lost just once. Once of our wheels has got stuck in the mud and I’m the one responsible, because it’s me driving the car. So it’s absolutely key to have the right amount of horsepower under the bonnet, to be able to get out of the mud. Sometimes you can do so right away, and right now we’re stuck right in it and it’ll be horsepower that makes the difference.

"We’ve got the strength to get the car back on the road, with our tyres on the tarmac, and back on our journey. The strength and ability of the squad, that is what gets you back on track. My thoughts are the same: I’ve got a strong squad and a selection of players that can help me get out of difficult situations, like the one we’re experiencing.”

What are your thoughts on what [James] Pallotta has said about you?

“I think it’s a question of interpretation. The president wanted to motivate the players and defend them, with the period we’re going through. He cares about his players and wanted to better defend them, perhaps raising questions about the work of the coach. I’m not sure if the latter was one of his intentions but, if so, from my point of view it wouldn’t be out of line. I’m the one who bears ultimate responsibility for what happens in the team.

"I’ve got faith that I’ll see a reaction. For me the most important thing is this: sometimes things are said in the dressing, people look for the truth or something that can be recognised as being true, but ultimately what matters most is how your players look at you and my players look at me in the right way. The way your players looked at you in the last meeting – that becomes key. We’ve got a lot of irons in the fire at the moment so let’s not linger too long on what the president has said.

"From my point of view, as I said before, that’s just one interpretation. Pallotta cares about the players and wanted to defend them at this time. What he says about me isn’t important. I know what I have to do. I have a key role and a big responsibility, and I keep going in the direction I need to go. There are no issues.”

What are your thoughts on this issue of the transfers of young players?

“If that’s the road you want to go down, you need to stop talking about winning and about having those objectives, otherwise it doesn’t make sense. This issue of young players is different, dealt with in a calmer and more reasoned fashion. We want to keep on trying to win and I have faith in my players. I won’t move from what I said in December, when I said they are the guys that will allow us to go far and do well.”

Will you make changes for the Palermo game?

“I saw some statistics on European football over the last 10 years, which said that when a team only has two days of rest, the win rate drops by 40%. That made me feel good about ourselves, because this year we’ve played 14 times with only two days’ rest and won 10 times – so a win rate of almost 70%. We lost four of those games but two have been during this period when matches are so close together.

"This shows that we’ve gone through is not unusual, if we look at the statistics – whether its ourselves among the staff or you journalists. So these things can happen. We have good professionals here who are working and I have very capable colleagues who work hard by my side, on this issue also. What we could have done was stretch out this series of tough games, which only we have had to deal with. In Italy, it’s only Roma that have had to deal with these runs of matches every two days.

"I went and spoke to the director [Mauro] Baldissoni to ask for some of the dates to be changed. The only one we could alter was Sunday’s game against Palermo, which we could have moved to Monday. If we had done that, however, it could have been dangerous because we’d have got back to Rome early on Tuesday morning. So we left things as they were. On this issue of schedules, Lyon for example were able to play their Ligue 1 game before facing us on the Friday. This kind of thing makes a difference, even though going to the players and telling them they are tired doesn’t work.

"The fact that [Alessandro] Florenzi got injured again is really unfortunate. It was absolutely key to get him back. But saying over and over again to the players that we’re worn out – that’s no help. Either way, on the line-up against Palermo, there’ll be four or five players who did not feature in the last game. Will there be youngsters involved? It’s the same issue I highlighted before – there’s no advantage to be gained. I need to win tomorrow and that’s the bottom line. We were focused on training well today. You overcome fatigue by taking responsibility, being professional and maintaining a firm conviction that you’ve got the right ideas.

"If other doubts arise, that’s no good. I never question who I am and how I got here. I’m with my team for which I’m solely responsible. I’m entirely convinced that they can get me out of this situation. We’ll bounce back because I’ve got the horsepower I need.”

Did the president call you to talk about your contract?

“The president was worried about me and had Baldissoni talk to me, having read things that came out. But it’s no big deal. I’m not trying to hide anything. I’ll repeat some of the things I’ve said previously: if I keep winning I’ll stay; if I don’t win I will not. You can ask me as many times as you want. I will stick to what I said the first time on this issue, as I will do on my players. I’ll stick with them, always, until the very end.

"I’ll show you, because I believe in their ability; I have accepted them and showed them they are wanted. In a moment like this, the most important thing is the results out on the pitch and not how long one’s contract is. That goes for myself and for the players. None of them have asked me anything like this. Sporting issues are those that matter now. Those who care for Roma and love the club, those who are good professionals, they don’t think about contracts but about the result in the next game.

"It is through results that you can look to the future, to your aims and your career. Without results you’ll always be restrained, in terms of what you can ask for and will receive in future. That’s why we need to focus on tomorrow’s result. That is what counts, nothing else, at this time. What happens on Thursday will follow on from the Palermo game. I expect a very good reaction from the players I pick, and from those who haven’t played so much. I count on them, as I do on the others, even if they’ve not played a huge amount.

"In a team a coach needs to make a decision and some guys end up on the bench. I’ll say it again: if people are thinking about contracts they’re not aware of the situation, they’re not being a professional like those who care for Roma.”

What do you think of what happened in Turin?

“I would happily have been a referee, but I’m now too old to start a career in that. I think referees have an important role and it needs to be performed well. Our officials are the best in the world at that job. Our referees are very good, so I don’t want to give my opinion on what happened. I don’t have the skill they do. I’d need to study something different from what I’m doing and what I’ve always done.”

Could you do with someone extra in the squad?

“You’re letting your guard down if you look backwards and think about this. I think it’s another waste of time and effort. We, and I first and foremost, need to preserve that for tomorrow’s game. It’s a question that was dealt with previously and is more to do with what the club wants to do – it’s the club that needs to outline its plans and objectives. My plans and objectives are to win the game tomorrow, getting the wheel I was mentioning out of the mud. It’s just one wheel on our car that is stuck.

"We could talk about a range of things but we don’t want to create more confusion. We need to have constructive discussions and not talk about silly things in the dressing room. The first person to start talking foolishly will be out. I won’t be doing it and no one else can. We need precise discussion, focused on tomorrow, because that’s when we’re playing. We want to win as much as we always have done, before this period, one which has been difficult for me.

"I know who I’m dealing with and what my team is capable of. We need to keep going on the road we were on before. We want to move forward.”

Can [Edin] Dzeko rest?

“He could rest, yes. As for [Francesco] Totti, he’ll be starting on the bench tomorrow.”

What’s changed with [Diego] Perotti, seeing as he’s playing fewer minutes?

“Nothing’s changed. He’s the same player he was and he will contribute. The team found a good balance while he was out and I need to bear that in mind. The same goes for [Stephan] El Shaarawy and for other players. In that period the team was getting results.

"Now [Mohamed] Salah is indispensable. But our best run was without Salah, so when he doesn’t play it’s still crucial to win. There are times when I need to make decisions and if I choose badly in those moments, we end up bogged down in the way I mentioned before.”

Do you have a pre-contract agreement with Juventus?

“I’ve not signed any pre-contract agreements with anyone.”