Mourinho: "We'll try to be balanced"

It seems Chris Smalling has agreed terms on a new contract with Roma. Could that be a sign regarding your own future?

“If that's the case, it's excellent news for Smalling and for Roma. For Smalling because he's happy. He hadn't played at this level and this consistently for a while. It's excellent for Roma because his performances have been fantastic. It's the perfect union for both parties. But Smalling is Smalling and I'm me. The two things aren't linked.”

What sort of opponent are you expecting Feyenoord to be?

“I really don't know about tomorrow's game. Feyenoord are the best team in their league – the numbers are there for everyone to see. I'm sure they'll be crowned champions in a few weeks' time. When you're the best team, it obviously means you score more than the others – and they do. We're not the best team in Italy and nor are we the best team in the Europa League but we can win it. We play with the resources available to us. We have balance. And we'll try to be balanced tomorrow. We'll see what sort of game it turns out to be.”

Now that you have various players fit again, will you be alternating some of your pairs mid-game? Like Lorenzo Pellegrini and Georginio Wijnaldum, or Andrea Belotti and Tammy Abraham?

“I don't think like that. I always try to pick the team that can perform best on the day. The guys on the bench are ready to play. We work to have everyone available. When we do specific tactical work, the players know who will start and who won't. They're all ready to play. Making pre-planned substitutions after an hour is not the way we manage games here. We try to analyse how things are going during the match, listening to the players' input too. For example in the game against Torino, the way [Paulo] Dybala looked at me made me understand we needed to change. We have that sort of relationship. The way we manage games is more at a team level than just me as the coach.”

Pellegrini has always been a key player for you. How is he? Has he slipped down the pecking order? Or was it just a moment in Turin?

“He's the captain and he remains the captain. He's an important player and he remains an important player. He started on the bench based on the work he did and didn't do in the week. It was more important for us to play with [Stephan] El Shaarawy and [Ola] Solbakken in that game. Nothing's changed for me. Last year he scored more goals and was more decisive. We'll see at the end of the season. Perhaps Lorenzo's best is coming now. Anyway I'm not going to tell you if he'll start tomorrow.”

How are your strikers doing from a mental point of view?

“They're both doing great. They're both dads – Tammy for the first time and Belotti for the second. You can imagine how happy they are. They're both happy. And I'm happy to have them. They didn't play in the last game and maybe they won't play tomorrow either but I'm still happy to have them.”

How have Feyenoord improved since the final in Tirana?

“I'm not able to think about the Feyenoord of Tirana. I can't. You seem to think it's permanent. For them it seems permanent too. I only see the Feyenoord of Tirana in one way: when I arrive in Trigoria every morning, I see the Conference League trophy. And that reminds me that we played them. But for me it's in the past.”

What qualities do you see in this new Feyenoord side?

“Roma are a humble team, with a humble coach. And we respect our opponents. We try to analyse our opponents in detail and get to know them as well as we can to reduce the unpredictable factor. And we do it with humility. We've spent a lot of time analysing Feyenoord and they're an excellent team. You won't find any weaknesses. They're a strong outfit who score lots of goals. They're aggressive and can play direct. Which may seem slightly contradictory to some of the things I've read. Their keeper can play with both feet and can play long. We've knocked out two quality teams in Salzburg and Real Sociedad. Now we're up against an excellent team who are used to winning, who will win the league and who will have added motivation.”

What do you think of the stadium? Are you expecting a wall of noise?

“I've lost to Feyenoord before. Will the stadium be a factor? It depends. I'm sorry our fans can't be here. And it's a problem that needs solving. I'm not worried about the game.”