Petrachi reflects on transfer window, squad's unity and more

While the Armenia playmaker was the focus of attention, Petrachi was also on hand to take a number of questions about the signing, and the club's transfer activity over the summer as a whole.

“We’re here to present 'Miki', as he likes to be called," Petrachi began.

"On behalf of everyone at Roma, I’d like to say how happy and proud we are to have signed another world-class player. I’m sure that his experience, technical ability and intelligence will improve the standard of our squad.

"We will do our best to support his desire to play football and provide him with the motivation, love and warmth that all players need. I think the Roma fans will show their love for this player.”

Read what else the sporting director had to say - on subjects ranging from Edin Dzeko to Patrik Schick, as well as the recent discussion around injuries at Trigoria...

You’ve signed a lot of players on loan. Will that make it difficult for you to maintain a coherent project in the long term?

“Sometimes you have to adapt to the circumstances. In terms of [Chris] Smalling and Miki, we only had 48 hours left of the window so it was difficult for us to make certain demands. Our idea is to make significant investment in young players.

"In the past, lots of money has been spent on young players where it would have been better to look at the attributes required. At the end of the window, we could either invest in two young players or make decisions like the one we made on Miki. It was unthinkable for us to be able to sign him on loan a month ago – I’d been offered the chance to buy him, but we’re talking about a top player with a high salary and we need to be mindful of budget concerns.

"When the opportunity arose for us to sign him on loan, we took it. The player also accepted a lower salary in order to have the chance to kick on. We have our financial situation and our budget and we have to manage to sign players against that. The opportunity came up to sign two players of this standard and we closed shrewd deals for them. Time will tell in terms of whether we can hold onto this kind of player, make significant investment and improve the standard of the team, which is what Roma needs.”

You were linked with Gonzalo Higuain and Mauro Icardi. What went wrong? When did you decide to offer Edin Dzeko a new deal?

“It’s not that something went wrong. I’ve always said that Dzeko was Roma’s centre-forward and that I would have loved to keep him. Sometimes strategies are used to try to achieve other goals. I never shared it with anyone, but I always hoped that we could keep Edin.

"Last year was a difficult one for Roma and that created some discontent among the players – I tried to convince him that things were changing and that a new Roma was being built where he needed to be the leading figure. The interest of Inter put some ideas in his head but I tried to convince him, day after day. I convinced him that he was a leader, a really important player. I want to thank his agent, Silvano Martina, who played a vital role and helped us to get the player to reflect. We had our alternatives, but our first choice was Edin.”

There have been four muscular injuries already this season. What do you make of the situation?

“I’m undertaking an objective analysis. I had very few muscular injuries at Torino last season, but obviously when you join a new club you have to familiarise yourself with the methods. At the big teams, players have personal trainers and have to balance their workload. I have to observe these factors. I want to understand which players do additional training away from the club and what work is done in the gym.

"Having said that, at times these things are a coincidence. I know that many people are surprised by the 50 muscular injuries we’ve had and that there is a big focus on the issue. [Leonardo] Spinazzola has had a few muscular injuries in his career and the same goes for [Javier] Pastore. I was shocked by [Davide] Zappacosta, because he injured himself in the pre-match warm-up and hadn’t shown any warning signs. [Cengiz] Under is a very explosive player, but he needs to manage himself at times. He told me that he picked up the injury by trying a powerful backheel out of the blue – so it can happen.

"I’ll be focusing on this issue and we’ll try to get rid of any type of excuse for the players. We’re changing the turf in Trigoria, because at times the lads complained about the hardness of the pitches. I asked the club to take action and we’re currently replacing the main pitch – the other pitches will follow. We will relay them to get rid of any excuses. I hope that things start to improve from now on.”

How would you rate this Roma side? Can you compete for the Champions League places?

“I put my heart and soul into this transfer window. I tried to give everything I had. When you come to a new club, some things work and others don’t. I tried to implement a bit of a revolution, because we needed that. When I spoke about a sense of belonging, I said that I wanted players who wanted to come to Roma.

"Obviously I asked for a bit of patience, because when you’re starting from nothing you need time. That’s something there’s not much of in football – the only thing that matters is the result at the weekend. I worked with the club to devise a plan to revive the sense of pride in Roma and I believe I’ve built a strong squad. Players that didn’t want to stay here have left – we did very important work in terms of outgoings.

"We also agreed new deals with two of our prized young players, Cengiz and [Nicolo] Zaniolo, when people were saying we’d had to sell them. We kept them on appropriate contracts. I’m trying to ensure that everything tallies off and to build a team with the base we had and the new players we brought in. The coach is implementing his way of working and that will take time. I’m very happy, but I’d rather talk about Sassuolo than the transfer market – we’re going to be up against a good side.

"Let’s put the last few months behind us and focus on the league. We should perhaps have a few more points: we should have got the win against Genoa. When you don’t get the results immediately, there’s always a bit of disappointment. I’m confident because I see that sense of belonging and commitment in the lads – they come here for lunch and dinner and you can see they want to spend time together.

"When I arrived there was a bit of separation, but now I can see unity of purpose. I can’t say whether Roma are good enough for the Champions League or not – I can’t see the future. But I think that I’ve built a tough side that will show its worth in every game.”

Roma have the third-highest wage bill in the league. Will you be addressing that? Pastore has high wages and a long contract, for example…

“I think there are some inconsistencies with how people analyse our wage bill. I’d be very cautious about that stat. High revenue for a football team generally equals a league win or a high finish. The Roma wage bill is very high. When I said we had to get back to fair, equal valuations, this is what I meant. We’ll improve things over time and balance things out. Right now, there is a lack of balance. We’ll recalibrate everything and try to maintain a very high level of quality.”

Was signing players from the Premier League at the end of the transfer window a strategy? Do you have any regrets?

“It was an opportunity. The fact that the English window closed earlier was an advantage for the other leagues. When I was offered the chance to buy Miki a month ago, I decided to explore other options. There were discussions around a Brazilian player with big prospects, but we would only sign him on our terms and not on the terms of his club, which was asking for a huge fee.

"At that point, I spoke to [Mino] Raiola, because we’d planned to speak at the end of the month. I told him I’d be delighted to sign Miki on loan. He told me that it would be difficult but that he would try. I told him that Miki would be more suited to Italian football than English football. He’s a very technical player and was struggling in the system they used in England. I tried to show him that Italian football would be best for his technical and tactical attributes. We intentionally waited for players like Smalling and Miki.

"I don’t have any regrets. I wanted to move two players on so they would be able to get more playing time, but the offer wasn’t accepted. In any case, we have a lot of games to play – with the Coppa Italia and so on – so hopefully the two players in question will prove me wrong. I don’t have any regrets. We were all able to do things. Everything I did was in accordance with the club. Guido Fienga, the CEO, gave me executive support and everything was done with the approval of president [Jim] Pallotta, who gave me what I needed to get it done. I want to thank Roma for making it possible for me to do what I thought we had to do.”

To what extent do you think Paulo Fonseca has been able to pass on his playing style and mentality to the players?

“I spoke to the coach yesterday and we talked about the fact that he needs to continue to implement his beliefs and mentality. He has innovative ideas. The norm in Italy is to keep it tight at the back and play on the break, so when you try to dismantle that there’s a clash of styles.

"He needs to stick to what he’s trying to do – without a doubt. When we get some results, the players will be the first ones to realise that his brand of football – which is all about pressuring the opposition while maintaining balance, which we’ve been lacking – can lead to that bravery that the coach has spoken about. I have great confidence in the structure and strength of this team. We will be able to play our game anyway and show real bravery.”

Was it difficult to offload some of the surplus players?

“That was one of the big problems, because you can’t build a team with 50 players. And for each signing I needed to move a player on. It wasn’t easy because when players are in a strong position because of the size of their contracts they tend to put up a bit of a resistance. Rome is a wonderful city and the fans are passionate and welcoming: you think twice before leaving a place like this. When you tell a player that they’re no longer part of the plans, it’s hard. But it helps when you’re consistent and tell players and agents things to their faces.

"I’ve always been consistent: I told them it was better for them to leave and play rather than for them to be bit-part players here. I was successful 80% of the time – a few players are still here, but that’s to be expected in such a big squad. I’m pleased with how we finished in terms of signings and departures.”

Will other teams have realised that Roma are a tough club to negotiate with after this transfer window?

“I’m proud to have kept the promise I made to the fans on the first day, when I said that Roma wouldn’t be bossed around by anyone. Everyone realised that. They realised that nowadays they can’t come to Roma and lay down the law, sign players on their terms and impose their will. We sent out an important signal. Everyone knows that there are ways and means to discuss a player. I hope that that’s something that is maintained and respected for as long as I’m here.”

How did you work with Franco Baldini during the transfer window?

“Baldini didn’t get in the way of my work at all over the last two months. I was clear before I joined and asked him to respect our roles. I have to say that about a month ago he was the one that told me that there was an issue at Arsenal and that Miki wanted to move on. That’s the type of collaboration I spoke about when I joined. I haven’t had any problems with Franco: I’m happy with how the work has been shared out. It’s right that Franco has a direct relationship with Pallotta. I’m very pleased with the teamwork.”

What went wrong with Schick?

“Sometimes things go well in football and other times they don’t. You can’t question Schick’s quality, because he has great potential, but his signing led to the fans having excessive expectations. You can understand that, because he was signed for €40 million and would have joined Juventus had it not been for the problems that came up – it created too many expectations.

"Those dreams didn’t come true so he needed a different experience and to test himself in a different league, in the hope that he can show his ability. It depends to a large extent on his character and his desire to put in the blood and the passion that you need to show to take the next step. I hope he rediscovers his form and can do what he often does for the national team.

"Let’s see how he does. He remains a Roma asset, because it’s a loan deal with an option to make it permanent. There were a few problems with Leipzig in the last few days, but I’m sure that Schick can do well. I hope he’s able to free himself from the weight of responsibility that Roma had unintentionally placed on his shoulders and that he rediscovers his form. That’s what I hope.”