Smalling: Players have to take responsibility to turn things around

The first leg, which takes place at the Stadio Olimpico, gets underway at 21:00 local time on Thursday.

Here's what Smalling had to say ahead of the game...

You know the Europa League well, you’ve won it. Is it the ideal game to forget the recent troubles we’ve had?

“I think the next game is always the perfect game and I think our focus has been on results and recently they haven’t been good enough. But this week we have two home games in quick succession in two important competitions and we have the chance to make sure they go well and give as a kickstart to ensure the next few months are much better than the last one.”

Can you explain why things have been difficult recently?

“It is very hard to explain, even as players. Up until Christmas we had that consistency and in the past month it has massively dropped. But I think we are all, us as players are taking responsibility, we are analysing our game both collectively and individually to identify where we can improve and make sure we get back to the level of performances. We know the last month hasn’t been good enough, but we are working hard to make sure it’s just a small blip and over the next few months we can be successful.”

Why do you think defenders haven’t scored many goals recently? At the start of the season it was a common thing…

“No I think that set plays can be the difference in a lot of games, and we as defenders know it’s an opportunity for us to help our attackers and the team and get a few goals. So we are working hard on set-pieces. We know the opportunities are there, the deliveries are there and we just need to make sure we are one of the first players to the ball. But we are working hard on those because we want to contribute in our own area as well as the other area.”

Are some of the players playing with a bit of fear at the moment? And why is the team conceding so many goals right now?

“As a defender I think for us to concede so many goals, especially when up until four or five weeks ago we were conceding very few chances or goals, it’s very disappointing. Obviously we are going through a very tough period but as players we know we are the only ones that can get us out of this. We are all working hard to improve individually, watching little clips with the coaches to see where we can make changes, because if each of us can improve a little bit it will help the collective. It hurts every time we concede a goal or a chance. It’s something I pride myself on and in recent weeks we’ve conceded a lot of goals. The recent weeks haven’t been good enough collectively but we are working very hard to makes sure we concede fewer chances and that we take the ones we do create.”

What about your future – are you happy in Rome?

“To be honest, my main focus right now is on results. I think game-to-game that is all we can focus on. Am I enjoying myself in Rome? Yes, 100%. It’s a great club, a fantastic city, the passion of the fans and the love I’ve been shown by them since Day 1 has been absolutely fantastic. But I think anything else is not for now – I don’t want to distract from what we need to do right now. Which is winning on Thursday, winning on Sunday and get back to winning ways.”

Has the takeover talk of the past few weeks been a distraction?

“No, far from it. Until we were told the negotiations were almost done I didn’t really know much about it to be honest. It wasn’t something that was mentioned in the changing room at all. Those discussions are way beyond our remit as players. Those discussions have had no bearing in the changing room.”

Is this a time for the experienced players to show the way? What do you make of some of the younger players?

“We are lucky to have a lot of experienced players in the squad, along with some younger players. Some who have been here a while, and some who have come from other clubs. When you want to be one of the best players, pressure is what comes and that’s what spurs me on and makes me want to improve as a player. Everyone in that changing room, you can see how hard everyone works, in the gym, on the training pitch, in analysis of their own performances with the coaches. Everyone is itching to perform. We have 20 players who all want to play on Thursday, you can see the competition and the passion and everyone is itching to get out there and prove themselves.”

Did the derby performance take a lot out of the team, or affect the mentality negatively?

“I don’t think we were settled with that result. The performance was a good performance but ultimately we dropped two points because we were clearly the better team in that game. So I don’t think you can come away satisfied with that. Maybe earlier in the season we would have built on it over the next few games – and we are working hard to get back to that consistency. But we need to try and start some more performances like that and build a winning mentality. This club has gone too long without winning a trophy, and I think to be a part of that I think all the players know what it would mean to be involved. To have the opportunity to win a trophy is what we want to do.”