Gandini: A year of progress means squad can target success in 2017

Recently appointed Roma chief executive Umberto Gandini spoke at the club's end-of-season Christmas charity event on Monday, thanking the players for their efforts in 2016 and insisting everything is to play for in the New Year.

The players perhaps entered the evening in slightly subdued spirits, having lost against Juventus in the club's weekend fixture, but Gandini stressed the positive progress the Giallorossi had made thoughout the calendar year - meaning everyone should look towards the New Year with renewed confidence.

“I’d like to pass on president [James] Pallotta’s Christmas wishes and thank all those present for the work they’re doing at the club," Gandini said. "I also want to thank the whole team, from coach [Luciano] Spalletti and his coaching staff to the squad itself.

"Thank you for your efforts in the past year, across last season and this campaign.

"Remember that we still have a very important match on Thursday to ensure we finish 2016 on a high. If we do that, we can enjoy a well-deserved holiday and start the new year on the right track.”

Gandini was asked for his thoughts about the game at Juventus Stadium, which saw the Bianconeri emerge as 1-0 winners thanks to Gonzalo Higuain's early finish.

Spalletti's side dominated possession and imposed themselves on the contest for large parts, but were narrowly unable to find an equaliser.

“I want to congratulate the team for their performance on Saturday," Gandini added. "We’re happy with how you played and we hope you are too. You came away from a tough match with your heads held high – it’s just a shame that we lost. There are still many matches to be played and we can still achieve our objective.

"I remember one season when a team was in second place, seven points off the top with seven matches to go, but won the league [Gandini's old club, AC Milan, doing so against Lazio]. There is time – there are more than 20 matches still to play and we can still get there: we have confidence in you.”

He added: “We’re a little disappointed at losing in Turin, but I think the history was with Juventus. We had the better of the stats in the match itself, but all teams who have gone to Juventus Stadium have had to battle against their record there. We know that we’re capable of competing and that’s the most important thing.

"We’re proud that we produced a good performance, even if it wasn’t enough to secure a win. We made a few mistakes. We need to learn from the defeat in order to keep moving forward – we’re still in line with our expectations.”