Spalletti: I believe in my players and that will never change

Speaking ahead of Sunday's trip to face Fiorentina, the Roma coach insisted he retains full faith in his squad - despite acknowledging that results and performances so far this season have not necessarily reflected the group's full potential.

“This is the squad I wanted and I’m happy with it,” Spalletti said. “We have a strong team. I believe in my players and I’ll continue to believe in them.

“The current squad is more competitive than last year’s. When you sow seeds properly then good things grow sooner or later. I’m happy with the players I have from now until the end of the season.”

Spalletti – who will be taking charge of his 252nd game as Roma boss at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday – reiterated his belief that Rome is the perfect place to work.

“I still think that but we have to work properly, achieving some milestones along the way to show that we’re going in the right direction," he said. "We need to have a way of working, of thinking, of doing that determines our future achievements.”

Spalletti also used the conference to set out his expectations of his team in the immediate future: “Simplicity is key. We need to be more accurate so we can string together a series of simple, continuous passes and manage games better.”