Ranieri: The fans expect us to keep on pushing

The game on Saturday gets underway at 18:00 local time.

The Sampdoria win showed that there’s life in this team yet. Has something clicked for the players?

“I think it’s still too early to say that. We still need to prove that. Obviously the Sampdoria game was a confidence boost for us all, but for now we need to keep doing what we’re doing.”

Udinese are unbeaten under Igor Tudor. What kind of match are you expecting?

“They’ll be our toughest opponents in this spell. We’ll be up against a resolute side who will keep it tight and then look to break. I’m very worried. We need to show clear heads, intelligence and patience and make sure we don’t get caught on the counter, because that’s exactly what they want: to keep it tight and then break.

"We need to be very switched on. I need the fans to help us – they need to get behind us and realise that this is a fundamental game for us. We’re in the hunt for the Champions League places – that’s where we want to finish and the fans share that. We need them behind us, cheering us on. That said, we do need to be patient. We can’t get carried away, otherwise we’ll play into Udinese’s hands.”

After the excellent second-half performance from Patrik Schick against Sampdoria, do you think he and Edin Dzeko could start together on Saturday?

“I like playing with two strikers up top, but I think that’s how Udinese want us to play. I think I’ll choose one of the two, but I still need to make the call.”

The win over Barcelona was exactly one year ago today. What do you remember of that game? Why aren’t you at that level one year on?

“I understand all this, but I’ve already put the Sampdoria game behind me, let alone a match that took place a year ago. All I’m interested in is Udinese – the past is the past. It’s not important anymore. The future is more important. The fans expect a quality performance from us: they want us to show how much we want to win and qualify for Europe. It’s a tough road ahead, with lots of teams competing with us, but we have to do everything we can for our fans.”

How is Alessandro Florenzi? Could he play as part of a back three?

“Florenzi trained separately yesterday and will link up with the group today – we’ll see how he is, then I’ll decide. It could be a back three. Let’s see.”

Dzeko hasn’t scored at home in a year. How much is the team missing his goals?

“You always miss the goals of your main goalscorer when they’re not flowing. When a coach puts a team together, you see the quantity of goals that come from certain positions. If a player gets you used to 18 or 20 goals, that’s the amount you expect and if they don’t come, you feel the absence.

"That said, he’s determined and I’m convinced that he’ll rediscover his scoring form in the run-in. He’s still working hard to play well and that’s important.”

Bryan Cristante has always played under you. Why is he such a vital player for you?

“He’s a player with massive potential. He made a name for himself at Atalanta but I knew him before that. He’s a box-to-box player – he has quality, gets forward well and has the potential to score lots of goals. I like having him in my team.”

Right now there’s a lot of talk about Francesco Totti’s development in his role and the idea of giving him decision-making powers. Do you think he’s the right person for that?

“He’s the right person because he loves Roma. He’s capable and he’s making progress, step by step. Nobody is born knowing it all – he is really determined to achieve big things and I hope he does that. He’s the right person, but we have to wait for him and allow him to develop.”

How is Justin Kluivert? Will he play on Saturday?

“He’s a lad with lots of potential – he’ll do well. He’s not easy to leave a club where the movement of every player is carefully planned out and come to a different environment, like the one we have here in Italy. He’s adapting very well and I expect a lot from him, just as I do from [Stephan] El Shaarawy, who can score goals as well as being a good wide player. That’s important.”

Can Daniele De Rossi play two matches back to back?

“Daniele can play and that’s the most important thing. We’ll need to be alert because they’ll want to lure us into their trap and then break. If they have 60 or 70 yards to run in to they can cause us problems with their pace.”

Under Eusebio Di Francesco, the team often played with a left-footed player on the right wing and vice versa. What’s your view on that?

“I like both ways. It depends on the game and on lots of things – it depends on what the players are used to. I love trying to help a play feel at ease in their position, but obviously sometimes the system requires players to play outside of their specific position.”

What do Roma need to do to get back to the level we saw a year ago against Barcelona? Can that ever happen? How many players are good enough to stay here?

“We have excellent players here. Lots of them are young and need to gain experience. We need to give them time.”