Bavagnoli reacts to season being cut short

Earlier in the week the Italian game's governing body announced that the 2019-20 women's season would not be finished, with six matches still to be played.

That means the Giallorosse finish the season in fourth place, never to know whether they could have finished in the top two - and qualified for next season's Champions League - had the full fixture list been completed.

“As far as the stop to the season goes, the first thing I would say is that the time it took to reach the decision did not help anyone," Bavagnoli told Roma TV.

"At Roma we were ready to restart, with all the precautions necessary to ensure the safety and security of the players and staff. Beyond that it is true that other issues emerged that, for various reasons, made it difficult for everyone to be able to follow the required protocols.

"It’s a hard decision to take but that’s where we are.”

How long would it have taken, to get the girls ready to play again?

“As a club we asked for the players to be able to train for at least five or six weeks before starting games again.

"This period would have allowed us to regain our confidence in terms of fitness, movement and power – because the training is completely different to the programme we put in place from the initial lockdown up until now. That timeframe would have allowed us to be properly prepared for competitive games.”

What is your approach right now towards next season?

“With my staff we are planning for the summer. I hope that we can confirm the dates for next season as soon as possible, so we can plan pre-season much better.

"After the summer there are also a number of important matches for the national team, qualification games for the Euros. So the new season may start sooner than it did last year.”

What are you expecting from Roma next season?

“I expect a side that remembers exactly where it left off. We were just acquiring an understanding that we were capable of facing anyone, and that’s an important mentality to have. We were starting to see that, on and off the pitch.

"So that’s where we need to start from, trying – as always – to do everything we can to finish as high as possible.”