Spalletti's pre-Napoli press conference in full

Luciano Spalletti sat down on Friday to preview the weekend's Serie A clash against Napoli.

The match at the Stadio Olimpico - a 15:00 CET kick-off - pits second against third, with the result potentially having significant implications in the race for Champions League qualification.

See what Spalletti had to say about the game, the fallout after the Coppa Italia defeat against Lazio, and much more in the transcript below.

How do you go about picking yourselves up after losing the derby 2-0?

“There’s a whole word behind that question. You can call into question everything we’ve done so far. I’ve lost around 200 matches since I became a coach. I’ve conceded 700 or 800 goals. We’ve played about 70 games since I came back here and we’ve lost 11 or 12 of them. We’ve conceded plenty of goals.

"I’ve always had something to say whenever I’ve lost a match or conceded a goal and – more importantly – the players have always had work to do. But we’ve scored at least three goals in 27 of those 70 matches, so the team and I definitely have a chance in our next match and in the second leg of the derby. It’s probably not going to be easy, but it’s definitely not impossible.”

Tomorrow sees one of the great Serie A fixtures return. Both sides will be hurting after Coppa Italia defeats, so what kind of match are you expecting? Will those defeats affect the psychology of the game?

“Tomorrow’s match is going to be tough – it’s a delicate one. We’ll need to be fully focused, put the effort in and show our quality. I’m sure the same goes for them. I think I’ve already said what I think of [Maurizio] Sarri and Napoli. We’re cut from the same cloth and we know when it’s time to send messages and when we need to focus on our own business. And right now we need to focus on ourselves.

“I think it’s correct to say that Napoli are a mature team too. Our players have proved that they’re mature and tomorrow we’ll need to show every bit of the maturity we’ve built up since we started working together last season. I expect us to make the right decisions when the time comes for us to dig in and I expect the team to defend in an orderly fashion and pick the right time to push on.

“Of course, we have lots of matches at the moment and that uses up a lot of energy, but we’re not tired – we’re ready. We have just as good a chance in tomorrow’s game as Napoli do, even if they’ve had an extra day’s rest. We don’t want sympathy from anyone – that’s not what we’re about. We play on a level playing field against a strong side who’ll come at us with the same intentions.”

Will Diego Perotti and Stephan El Shaarawy come in handy during this busy run?

“We knew that it was going to be a packed period and we knew what kind of games we’d have to play. It’s a run that means we have to change a few players around and that will probably be the case tomorrow too, but that doesn’t change the team’s ability to produce a good performance and entertain the fans.

"I’ve watched the derby back and I don’t really think that there was as big a gap between the sides as people have tried to make out. We took the match to them and we played well for long stretches. There are things we need to put right and we’ll do that in the second leg.”

Roma and Napoli are Serie A’s two highest-scoring teams – but is there a particular area where you think your side are better than Napoli?

“That doesn’t come into it when you have two such strong teams facing off. When you have players of the standard we do it’s hard to say that we’re better at this or that than them. Even when you do have a slight advantage, that can easily be cancelled out if someone makes a good decision during a game or if your opponents prepare well and study your movement. Sometimes in matches, even if you’re the better team, the opposition is just quicker to take advantage of a particular situation.

"We’re both good teams, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to put the numbers together we have since I’ve been here. Both are clubs that the management, coaching staff and fans can be proud of because it’s clear that behind the scenes there’s professionalism, reliability, awareness, loyalty and a bond with the club. In terms of tomorrow, there are no huge advantages where we would say we’re going to focus on this position because that’s their weak spot.”

Kevin Strootman has said that the football association should take action following the racist chants against Toni Rudiger. Do you think that’s necessary?

“In my eyes, if we want to catch up with the rest of European football we need to take a step forward on ethical issues. The lack of a clear stance on this doesn’t help – it keeps us lagging behind the rest of Europe. I don’t see anything being done in terms of education: we should do what they do abroad and take decisive action against whoever engages in this type of behaviour.

"I remember a close friend of mine who was well known back Tuscany – his name was Il Raro and he was a blind man. He had brilliant blue eyes but sadly he couldn’t see. When he sensed that there was someone in front of him, he used to open his eyes wide even though he couldn’t see anything. It was his way of saying: ‘Who are you? Make yourself known.’ The racists would do very well to experience life from Raro’s perspective and judge people for what they are and what’s in their hearts, not the colour of their skin.”

What went wrong against Lazio?

“We had control of possession and did very well at the start, but we had to get through a lot of traffic in their half and that led to some dangerous situations. They left two players up – Felipe Anderson and [Ciro] Immobile – ready to break and if we got too far away from them that gave them the opportunity to break at speed into the space. Ten metres was already too much for us to catch them – that’s how they were able to break so much and find some space to attack. They took their opener well and we weren’t able to make the most of the chances we created.

"We’ve watched it back, discussed it and agreed on what went wrong. Now we need to focus on our next game and build on our numbers and our league position. We have to learn from what happened, as is always the case when you make mistakes. It’s important that we move on – we’re looking to the future.”

Are you worried that your objectives for the season are slipping through your fingers?

“No result is decided before a match. If you had told me back in March that we’d be where we are now, I’m not sure what I would have said. Maybe I would have held out for more, but I think the lads have done a respectable job in terms of results so far. The benchmark is still Juventus, but they’re having an incredible season. Right now our numbers are the same as Juventus’ were last season, but they’ve taken another step up – just as we’ve done compared to how we performance last year.

"I don’t like the word 'worried' anyway – why do you want to make me worried? Since the derby our opponents have been keeping the banter coming our way, but lots of it has been a bit dated in my opinion. A neighbour of mine even came and left something at my front door, which didn’t happen when the shoe was on the other foot. I’ve received lots of messages and I have to say that I’ve never had them at the halfway point of a match before.

"Our job is to do what I’ve already said – to build on what we’ve done and to try to do something about the gap above us. It’s a substantial one. I want to have my say and the players want to have theirs.”

Given that Edin Dzeko has played nearly every game, do you think he’s at risk of getting burned out?

“I think he played very well against Inter and then he was a little quiet the other night, but you need to see that repeatedly over two or three games before you can say he’s tired. Everyone has an off night. Right now he just needs to do the same as the rest of the team: look at the numbers, analyse the facts and go and find the solution.”