Garcia: We're angry and determined to bounce back

With the Giallorossi set to resume their domestic commitments with a home game tomorrow, the coach says that picking up three points would be the best way to move on from their Champions League defeat on Tuesday.

"We're angry and we want to bounce back in the league so that we can push on from here," the French coach declared at a press conference the day before Roma's host the Bergamo-based outfit at the Olimpico. "We know everyone is very unhappy and disappointed and that we could have done better. Now we're focusing all of our energy on tomorrow's game to show that this team can respond. That's all we can do."

Do you think you can make up some ground in the league with other sides playing each other this weekend?

"We have to win our own game first and then we can see how the others do. That's the way I always look at it. We have to seize this opportunity because we're playing at home. A win tomorrow can take us higher up the table."

Your team has conceded 31 goals in 18 games in all competitions. How do you plan to fix that?

"We can do better defensively – and by that I mean the whole team, not just the backline. We've shown that we can do it. We kept a clean sheet in our last home game in Serie A and showed that when every man sets out to help the rest of the team we can do it. Having said that, I'd be happy to win every game 3-2. Having the league's best attack means you need to take a few risks but we also need to consistently have a balanced team."

Could you improve the way you start games?

"The first goal is always important in football because it changes the match but we must be able to win by coming from behind as well. Sometimes we have overturned a deficit but of course every team would prefer to start off strong."

Do you feel responsible for not preparing for the Barcelona game properly?

"We're all responsible when we play badly. Apart from the first half against BATE, I don't think there have been any other matches this season where we've played badly all game. We were barely in it against Barcelona but we always have been in our other games and we've managed to react to the difficulties we've faced. If we hadn't done that, we wouldn't be one win away from the top of the league or 90 minutes away from reaching the Champions League knockout phase."

With hindsight, would you say the same things you did after the match at the Camp Nou again?

"I said we played against the best team in the world at the moment, but there's no point going back over it now. There were lots of fans in Barcelona and they were disappointed and upset and I understand that. I was proud to see how many came along to support us.

"But I want to look forward and we'll be a stronger force tomorrow if we have our fans behind us. We're still on course to achieve our objectives and if we want to actually achieve them I hope our fans will come back to the Olimpico because they make us stronger. There's no time to be feeling sorry for ourselves; we're battlers and tomorrow we want to get going again with three points."

Do you think the team maybe lacked character and went out there against Barcelona already beaten?

"This team does have character. When we've found ourselves with our backs to the wall we've shown we can respond. I challenge you to find any times, apart from against Barcelona, when we didn't do that. We need to be more consistent. We certainly didn't go out there thinking we'd already lost. It's possible that knowing that our game against BATE on 9 December would be the one that mattered we held back a little bit to avoid picking up cards."

Would you say that Roma have everything to lose this season?

"Our objectives are very clear. We want to qualify from our Champions League group and we can do that by beating BATE on 9 December. In Serie A we want to secure Champions League qualification for the third year running and stay in the running for the title until the end. Let's start by beating Atalanta tomorrow so that we can push on in Serie A. We're determined to achieve our objectives."

How is the squad doing fitness-wise and how are Manolas and De Rossi in particular?

"Manolas and De Rossi are fine. Daniele has recovered completely but I didn't want to risk him at Barcelona because he could have got a suspension. I think the squad is in good shape physically. The game in Bologna took a lot out of us but we've had five days to prepare for tomorrow's match."