Szczesny: We're still title contenders

Roma will travel to Chievo for their first match of 2016 in fifth place but only four points adrift of Inter and Szczesny believes the gap can be closed.

"Let's start the second half of the season well," announced the Polish international. "We need to recover ground on the teams above us and get back into contention for the title, which was our objective at the beginning of the year.

"We're still among the contenders as we're only four points adrift. It's a good thing that there are five teams within four points of each other. It means the league is evenly balanced.

"It only takes one game to pick up points on the teams in front, but by the same token it's equally important to be at your best in every single match."

Finally, Szczesny – who joined on loan from Arsenal this summer – underlined his total faith in the job Rudi Garcia is doing and his ability to motivate the side.

"It's normal when a team goes through a poor run of form like we did last month that the coach's position begins to be questioned. However, Garcia has worked extremely hard to get us out of this patch and we can see this in training as well. His dedication, effort and determination are all things that he transfers to the players.

"I am 100% convinced that Garcia is the right man for the job."