Di Francesco: This is just a starting point for us

Cengiz Under, Javier Pastore, Stephan El Shaarawy and Aleksandar Kolarov all scored for the Giallorossi, as they got back to winning ways after a tough run of form.

You wanted a response. Was this it?

“I spoke to the boys before the match – it’s as if we’re starting a new campaign. The important thing was to start well, with the right mentality and the desire to do what we know we can, showing intensity and the commitment we saw tonight. This wasn’t easy, especially against a team that did very well against Juventus.”

Now you’ve got the derby on Saturday.

“This is a starting point for us – we’ve done nothing. It was important for us to get three points, see some of the play that we’ve been missing, score goals and get confidence back into many of the players. This will allow us to approach the derby in the best way possible.”

You scored four and conceded none, was that important too?

“I asked the boys to try and keep a clean sheet, something we did regularly last year and have struggled to do this season. We were much better tonight in the way we controlled the ball and that shows that we’ve improved. I still feel like we’re at the beginning of something now.”

You wanted men – have you found them?

“We have a squad of good lads and I need to get more from them. This is a healthy bunch. We need to show our quality game after game – that’s what we’re here to do.”

Will James Pallotta say he’s relieved after this match?

“The President is free to say whatever he wants – he represents the club’s ownership. We hope that the next comments he makes are happy ones.”

You used to score goals when you played, but the ones Javier Pastore scores are more beautiful.

“I ran a lot and every now and again the ball would bounce off me into the goal. Pastore doesn’t score loads of goals, but he scores high-quality ones. I hope he keeps this up. I put him back into the role he prefers, alongside vocal players who offer help and support. This will allow me to work on two formations when we’ve built up our confidence.”

On a personal level, do you feel more relaxed?

“Personally I’m relaxed and have firm belief in the work I'm doing. I’m able to face up to questioning when things aren’t going so well but I know that, in the long-term, what you have inside you pays off.” “I spoke to the boys before the match – it’s as if we’re starting a new campaign. The important thing was to start well, with the right mentality and the desire to do what we know we can, showing intensity and the commitment we saw tonight. This wasn’t easy, especially against a team that did very well against Juventus.”