Spalletti: Work to do to improve

The new Giallorossi coach, who was taking charge of his first Roma game since August 2009, didn’t hide his disappointment at the result but argued there were some positives that his side can work on to improve in future matches.

“We didn’t have a great performance but the team tried hard,” began Spalletti after the game. “There’s still work to do to improve. A draw is a tough result to accept today but there were some positives and we need to kick on from those.”

Were you expecting a different performance today?

“Yes, but the team was very disappointed in the dressing room after the game because we tried to do what we’d worked on in training. I saw lots of effort and we created chances, but unfortunately we didn’t take them. We need to work hard now so we can do better in our upcoming matches.”

Is defence still Roma’s biggest problem?

“Yes, we were caught on the counter three or four times today and that was exactly the kind of thing I didn’t want to happen. We marked them from behind too much instead of looking to go and cut the ball out early. That’s another thing we need to work on in training. We played with both a back three and a back four today but a team like Roma needs to be ready to mix things up even during a match because being able to do that can help us to win.”

Are you more worried about the technical or physical level of your players?

“If we are able to show our technical superiority, fitness is less important because it means we’re controlling the ball more and imposing our quality. If we make too many mistakes in terms of game management, by leaving ourselves open to the counter and failing to protect the ball well enough, you can see our limitations more clearly.”

Is there an issue with Edin Dzeko?

“When you play for such a big club as Roma you’re going to have quieter spells and it’s important to remember that. It’s what’s happening to Edin. Our team can help him come through this off spell.”

Is Leandro Castan lacking confidence?

“I believed this match was the right time for him to come back in. He needs to regain his confidence and you can only do that by playing and experiencing match situations. When we took the lead I thought we’d suffer fewer counter-attacks but in fact there were more of them and one led to the penalty and their equaliser. I picked Castan today because I thought he would help us to impose our play better and keep hold of the ball more.”