Monchi on January transfer market, his future, Zaniolo and more...

Gazzetta dello Sport published the interview on Thursday - read some of what the Spaniard had to say, about subjects ranging from this month's transfer activity to the futures of a number of Roma players, in the excerpt below...

Monchi, how do you assess things after 20 months at Roma?

“You can do these assessments when you come to the end of a project. I’ve still got some way to go on this project. If I look back to last season, my assessment is positive, but this season hasn’t been great so far. However, a few results won’t change the way I think or take away my excitement at working here at Roma.”

So you won’t be off at the end of the season?

“Every day I hear that I’m going to resign or be sacked. No, as I’ve said before, I’m staying at Roma. My aim is to deliver success, gradually but also consistently. I understand that what the fans want above all is to win but it’s important to remain consistently competitive, at the top level and close to success. It’s better that way, rather than to win something once and then nothing else.

"Rome is the capital of Italy and the majority of people in the city are Roma fans. I knew it’d be stimulating but tough here – there’s a big fan base, a lot of pressure, also from the media. The ups and downs in this environment are not an excuse. Wherever you go, a loss becomes a crisis, whether it’s Man City, Juventus, Bayern – any big team. Even though Roma haven’t won lots, they’re still a big club, because of its significance.

"Sometimes you need to be able to see not just black and white, but what’s in between. I’d like to hear more said about this club, about how it functions as a whole. I don’t think that’s happening at the moment. Putting aside some results, as well as good or bad purchases, I think our club is a model for others and it’s a shame that this aspect comes second to opinions on Monchi or Eusebio Di Francesco. Roma are about more than what we hear or read about.”

Speaking of Di Francesco, have you struggled to defend him?

“It hasn’t been difficult because I’ve been 100% confident in my idea of keeping him. Everyone has shared in that. When we went to see James Pallotta in Boston, we spoke for about 15 or 20 seconds about Eusebio. Roma have a good president and management structure. I’m in charge of my area and if I’m sure about something, it’s not up for discussion.

"We’ll assess the situation at the end of the season. Of course, there are moments – you lose at Udinese or Bologna, or draw as we did against Cagliari and I want to kill the boss and myself too. But that’s the fan in me coming out. I had great faith in him when I brought him in and now we’re working together, that faith is even stronger.”

Some people accuse Di Francesco of being a corporate coach.

“Eusebio isn’t a company man – he’s an employee, as we all are. Last year we had to do some tough deals. I wasn’t happy to sell Mohamed Salah and Antonio Rudiger, but I had to do it. We were lucky enough to have a coach that understood the situation and still managed to get results. I can’t lose faith in him now because of some negative results. I can do if his attitude or way of working changes, or if he loses the confidence of the team.

"It’s always been difficult for me in my career to dismiss a coach. You only do it if they lose their head. I come in to Trigoria at 7:30 in the morning and I leave at 8 in the evening. I have a clear idea of what goes on.”

Do you have the idea that Roma have exited a crisis?

“I want to believe so – there are signs of improvement. There are some important players coming back and the figures from last month on the physical side are clearly better. We’re getting back on the right track to reach our ultimate objectives.”

On Daniele De Rossi, where are we as regards the injury and the contract extension?

“Knowing Daniele and his dedication to Roma, it’s not even good for him to talk about the future right now. We need to hope he recovers and fortunately the scans have provided some good news. Now we need to see what happens when he comes back into training. I saw a change in him two days ago – he was upbeat and optimistic, because he’s not in pain.”

Still on the subject of renewals. When will those for Kostas Manolas, Cengiz Under, Stephan El Shaarawy and Lorenzo Pellegrini be spoken about?

“These are different situations. Some of these will need to be assessed at the end of this window, others at the end of the season. There’s also Nicolo Zaniolo who, given how he’s been playing, might be the first renewal we deal with.”

He’s the new man of the moment in Italian football. Did you expect him to do so well right away?

“No. I didn’t expect it. Credit goes to him and the coach, who has believed in him, for the way the player has developed. Inter didn’t want him involved in the negotiations over Radja Nainggolan. Piero Ausilio had blocked it, but they wanted to get Radja in and ultimately they yielded. I thought of Nicolo as a prospect, but more a long-term one. Initially we wanted to loan him out to another Serie A side, given how many midfielders we’ve got in the squad, but once we sold Kevin Strootman we realised that it was perfect to keep him on board.

"Zaniolo is wowing everyone and I know that Italy needs new footballing heroes right now, so as to rebuild some confidence. But for the good of Nicolo, we need to stay relaxed. He’s only 19 years old.”

The question on all the Roma fans’ lips - will Zaniolo stay at the club long term?

“We’ve sold top players to balance the books, because a well-run club needs to respect the rules. But we know there are teams in Italy and abroad who pretend to go down different paths. What we want to do now is build a great team and, for that reason, I say that Zaniolo is Roma’s future. He won’t be sold. He’ll go on a long and significant journey at this club. He’s like a building that we are constructing, bit by bit. If we don’t do things correctly, it could all fall to pieces in an instant. I’ve seen lots of talented players lose their way.”

Roma already have lots of Italian players. Will the number increase?

“I have lots of faults but two real virtues – I recognise when I make mistakes and I enjoy learning. The Monchi that came here had an indirect knowledge of Italian football. I know the Italian game much better now and I’ve come to understand that it’s more expedient to bring in Italian players.

"Among the purchases I’ve made, many of those to turn out best have been Italian players. That doesn’t mean I’ll ignore the foreign market, but Roma will be very Italian in future.”

On the issue of recognising one’s mistakes. Was it an error to bring in Javier Pastore and Patrik Schick?

“Those are two different conversations. Pastore is an excellent player – what we need to do is rediscover the player we saw at Palermo and in Paris. I think there’s still time for us to do that. I believed in the idea of playing him wide of a midfield three. On Schick, the issue isn’t the player himself, but the person, who sometimes doesn’t find the right frame of mind to focus more on being a player. Patrik is excellent in training – everyone says it. However we don’t consistently see that ability in matches.

"We need to work on the person. We could have sent him on loan as a way of helping him but there is no perfect or sure-fire formula. He’s a fruit that we need to keep on squeezing, spending time and energy on him. I believe in him. He has talent but sometimes it’s hard to adapt. Take Ciro Immobile for example. If you talk about him in Dortmund or Sevilla people want to kill him, but at Lazio he’s idolised.”

Who has been the best-value player you’ve brought to Roma?

“On the basis of performance, I’d say Aleksandar Kolarov but Lorenzo Pellegrini has got a big future.”

Zvonimir Boban told the Gazzetta that Financial Fair Play is a barrier to new owners that want to spend, such as at Inter and Milan. What do you think?

“Roma respect FFP and it’s right to do so. Obeying the rules gives leagues credibility.”

What this league lacks is competition. Juve are unrivalled.

“But I believe the Italian league is at the top level. Nowhere do they do better work on tactics. We need to make the most of the academies and be brave enough to use young players: Barella, Tonali, Mancini, Zaniolo, Cristante, Pellegrini… There are some outstanding young players and they are the future of Italian football, which is improving. Yes, we’ve got Juve, who always win and are turning over twice what we do. What we can’t do with money we must do through ideas and hard work.”

To increase revenues, you need the new stadium as soon as possible.

“At a time of economic crisis, you have a billion-euro project that remains at a standstill. It doesn’t make much sense to me. It could have a positive impact not only on Roma but also the city of Rome. We want to bridge the gap, not only with Juventus but all of European football and to do that, this project is fundamental.”

What business will you do in January?

“Roma invested a great deal in summer. We’ve already done significant things. We’re only looking for players that will raise the level of this team. That’s not easy but we’ll keep trying. In terms of quality and quantity, we have it. I’m sure of that."