Mourinho: Three points against tough opposition

Jose Mourinho had the following to say after Roma defeated Empoli 2-0 thanks to goals from Roger Ibanez and Tammy Abraham to move level on points with Inter Milan, awaiting results elsewhere.

Why is Tammy Abraham now looking like he's undroppable for you?

“There was a brief period earlier in the season when I had some doubts – not about his quality but his form. Now, even when he doesn't score, he always brings so much to the team. He did everything well today. In the second half he held up the ball and helped ease the pressure. He gave the team time to get into position and tried to stretch the opposition. In the first half he linked up well with Paulo [Dybala] and Lorenzo [Pellegrini]. He was excellent. He's in superb form at the moment.”

What did you have to say to the team to obtain such a big difference in approach compared with the game against Cremonese?

“First of all, today we put out what is theoretically our best team, at least at the moment. There were 30 minutes where our game plan was almost perfect. After that, the intensity dropped and we played a different way. The intensity didn't drop because I wanted it to, but because this is who we are.

“Paulo was struggling a little. Lorenzo pulled out all the stops after playing 90 minutes against Cremonese. Nemanja [Matic] and our wing-backs went past their man much less often and we played with a deeper defensive line in the second half.

“I'm happy because we're playing well despite our limitations. We're doing what we can. Today we got three points against tough opposition. After the game, I told Paolo Zanetti that his team are really very good and this was an excellent win for us because we were up against a very difficult team."

What did you think when you saw Dybala holding his side?

“I think there are people in the stadium who don't understand that this is our reality. There are some who do of course and there are people among the media who should understand because it's their job – and I think they do understand but they pretend they don't.

“I think if we'd played against Cremonese with the same team as today we'd be in the Coppa Italia semi-finals but we wouldn't have won today. That's who we are. We always do our best and we work very hard.

“Before the match today I told my players that we had to go out there with a rucksack full of frustration and regret after our last game and that we can't expect anyone to help us. It's just us. For the first time I went out onto the pitch with them for the warm-up and that's exactly the feeling we had: it's just us. The truth is we're doing our best. As I always say, when you do your best, you can't do any more. We always do our best.”

What does Andrea Belotti need to do to get more playing time? You'll need him at his best when Roma are playing two games a week with the Europa League.

“He will get game time of course. He joined us late and then just when he seemed to be improving he had this latest injury. Now his fitness is good and I think he played well in the last game. Besides the goal, which is not the most important thing for me, he did a really good job, very similar to what Tammy did today, although they have different qualities.

“He's growing in confidence and so is my confidence in him. In football you can only pick 11 players. Other clubs have some incredible players on the bench but they don't get asked awkward questions very often. Belotti doesn't play a game and immediately you're asking me this question. If we go with Tammy and Belotti, that instantly creates a problem: what strikers have we got on the bench?"

But Belotti only played 30 seconds today.

“Thirty seconds is better than none. In 30 seconds you can help the team to win. When you were a player [speaking to Emanuele Giaccherini], maybe you wanted to play every game and you didn't want to play 30 seconds, but I want to win games. And 30 seconds help me to win.”

What can you to do to convince Chris Smalling to stay and what does Nicolo Zaniolo need to do to convince you to welcome him back into family?

“Zaniolo doesn't have to do anything at all. That's a problem for the club and he has to solve it with the club, not with me. As for Smalling, I can't do anything to convince him.

“I take each day as it comes. I could have left in December but I didn't. I stayed here. This is my life. Sometimes you'd think we're struggling in the relegation zone but we're not – we're up near the top with all those excellent teams. That's just how it is.”