Fonseca: We can't let defeats weigh heavily on us

Wednesday's game at the Stadio Olimpico gets underway at 21:45 local time, with the Giallorossi looking to end a run of three successive defeats.

Here is what Fonseca had to say going into the contest...

Among the things that haven’t worked in 2020 is the lack of development of two players in particular: Cengiz Under and Justin Kluivert. Do they need to start being decisive in games, or should we still give them time?

“I don’t think it’s right to focus on two players at a time like this. I think that we all have to do better, it’s not just something that concerns two young players like Kluivert and Cengiz. The whole squad has room to do better.”

After the game against Napoli you said that you would like to limit the changes to the team; given Chris Smalling is out, could Bryan Cristante be an option in a three-man defence?

“Yes, if we play with that setup then Cristante could be a possibility. Smalling will not play tomorrow and Bryan has already played there this season – and played well, too – against Parma.

"He also brings different qualities to the side, in terms of building out from the back. He could be an option we use in that tactical setup.”

How do you explain how the team has declined in 2020?

“I think we have to separate out the various phases. We did not start the year well, but after that we won three games in a row and we progressed in the Europa League. After the game against Sampdoria there was the loss in Milan.

“In the team there is an issue we are working on to try and address: losses hit us hard and the side finds it difficult to bounce back. Despite the fact we didn’t win against Napoli the side showed signs of recovery and I think that tomorrow we will do better once again.”

In terms of your tactical choices, will Smalling’s absence be pivotal?

“No, the system doesn’t depend on any one player. We will see tomorrow [what I choose to do], but it doesn’t depend on any individual.”

In a 3-5-2, could Carles Perez be the player that supports Dzeko in attack? What would change compared to Kluivert there?

“He could play there too. It wouldn’t change things a lot; they are both players with very different characteristics to Edin, they are faster and more dynamic compared to him but they could fill that role similarly.”

Does it annoy you to read about coaches who could potentially replace you?

“Not at all.”

Can the poor results be put down to slower progress towards full match sharpness compared to opponents?

“No, in my opinion it’s not an issue of physical fitness.”

Why, when the chance was there to win the game, did you opt for Nicolo Zaniolo – who was not fit enough to change the match?

“If Zaniolo travelled with us that means that he was ready to play. He was not ready to play for an extended period and he played what he could – 30 minutes. He played well, despite the fact that naturally he isn’t in top condition yet.”

Is he ready to start now?

“No, we can’t forget just how long he has been out. We need to be careful.”

You have the same number of points as last season, when the club changed coaches. How can you convince the fans that progress is being made compared to last season?

“I don’t think it is fare to make comparisons with past seasons. I cannot talk about them, because I don’t know what was going on. I only know about this season and we all know that lots of things have changed and we’ve done a lot of things well.

"My concern, right now, is to get the team back to winning. We should not forget that we are still at the start of a project. I know a lot of coaches winning leagues all around Europe now who did not win anything in the beginning.”

In recent days both you and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have talked about the mentality – what has happened there?

“I said that for me one thing is important here: that the team understands that a defeat is just that, one defeat. We have to analyse it, of course, and we certainly can’t be happy whenever we don’t win – but a defeat cannot become such a blow that it holds us back in the future too.

"That’s something we need to work on, to change.”

In football there are a lot of match situations that are planned, like the run of Jose Callejon to make it 1-0 on Wednesday. How do you make sure mistakes like that don’t happen?

“We did work on that and it was clear that was a danger for us. When I was coach at Shakhtar we studied the same movements from Napoli players. We prepared for the game well, but those two situations where they scored where timed and executed very well – it’s hard to fully defend against and, in that sense, you have to give credit to those players.”

What are you expecting from Parma?

“They are a very aggressive side, one of the best in the league on the counter-attack. I think that is how they will set-up tomorrow, ready to counter, and that is dangerous. They have good attacking players. That’s what we need to be ready for tomorrow.”

After the Napoli game you said you did not want to make too many changes. What positions are you considering making some changes?

“I’m not planning to change a lot, as I said. There is the Smalling situation, because he can’t play, and there is [Davide] Zappacosta – who has been out for a long time but has played two games in the past week and is feeling the effects a bit.

“I then have another two roles I’m considering, but I’m definitely not planning huge changes.”