Fonseca: Players need to know I believe in them

Sunday's game gets underway at 18:00 local time, with the Giallorossi looking to build on the midweek win over Gent in the Europa League.

Here's what the boss had to say ahead of Sunday's match.

What do you fear about tomorrow's game?

"Lecce are a very motivated side, having put together a three-game winning run. They play good football and try to build the play from the back. They have good players who like to keep possession. We're expecting a tough game."

Are you thinking about making changes with so many matches in a short period of time?

"We can make two, three or four changes for the game. There's not much time to recover, so you expect to make a few changes to keep the team fresh for the next match."

You've spoken clearly about Lorenzo Pellegrini's form. How are you managing that situation? Should he rest or does he need to play?

"A coach must always think about both options and I've done just that. First of all, Lorenzo must understand what he hasn't been doing well and why. I've spoken to him in the last few days to explain what wasn't going well. At the moment, I believe Lorenzo needs to play. It's important to make the player feel supported and show that he can turn things around. We don't help the players and the team by hiding them away."

Aleksandar Kolarov isn't in great form at the moment either. How do you plan to handle that?

"I'm not thinking about a specific plan for managing Kolarov and he is going to play tomorrow. I think Alex's characteristics are key to the team against a team like Lecce. He hasn't been doing that well recently, like the team as a whole, but I do think he improved last time out. We have to think about what we've done well. This same team produced some very good performances at the start of the season, which means we are capable of that. We have to work hard on that and on what we can do well."

Roma have won the most corners in Serie A this season. Are you working on that in training to make the most of them?

"Always and I must say we are one of the teams that score the most from corners. We are constantly working on that part of the game. Can we score even more goals from them? Yes and we know that. We have some very good players in that regard. There are goalscoring opportunities from set-pieces in every match."

Besides the league standings, do you think the team has what it takes to finish fourth?

"I've always felt as much as anyone it's possible to qualify for the Champions League next season. I must believe and make others believe as well."

How is Gianluca Mancini after the drop in performance level and not playing on Thursday?

"It's true that he didn't play, but I don't need to say anything about him. He's a player who will be back in the team when I feel we need him. I think Chris Smalling and Federico Fazio had a good game, but Mancini is certainly a great professional in all areas."

Davide Santon, Bruno Peres and Leonardo Spinazzola have all played down the right recently. Who is in pole position in your head?

"We'll see tomorrow, which is one of my favourite sayings."

Is Henrikh Mkhitaryan ready to start?

"Miki, Justin Kluivert and Diego Perotti are all ready. We'll see tomorrow."

If Roma failed to finish fourth, would it be a failure or would it be part of the team's development?

"This is a question that could generate a very long answer, but I don't think it would be a failure. Since the start of the campaign, we've defined this as season zero in which there have been many changes. Jurgen Klopp, the coach of the best team around at the moment, finished in eighth place with Liverpool during his first year in charge. Lazio are doing well right now, but how many years has Simone Inzaghi been working with that squad for? The same thing goes for Gian Piero Gasperini and I could cite many other examples as well.

"There have been so many changes at Roma this year and I don't think not getting fourth would be a failure, but I'm a positive person and I haven't ever thought about that, particularly because I think we can finish in the top four."

Roma have been compared with a driver who has three crashes in a row, but we are talking about professional footballers. Don't you think Valentino Rossi or Lewis Hamilton would be capable of getting going again without any issues? Why do Roma have all these problems?

"I don't think that Rossi would be the same after three crashes in a row. We do have to battle to make changes, however. Football is different from other sports. You mentioned individual sports, but this is a team that has got it wrong in two or three games."

When you defend, do you focus more on the ball or on the man?

"On both. It depends on where the ball and the taker are. It also depends on the position. Defenders have to worry about both things, as well as their positioning on the pitch."