Mourinho: “Amazing to have a full house. We need all our fans”

What shape are Roma in going into this match against Salernitana? What are the team's targets? Did you expect more attacking reinforcements after Tammy Abraham's injury?

“We've trained well – very well, I'd say. We've basically had 40 days to work and virtually all the players have done 100% of the work, or thereabouts. We've had very few problems, not even the minor niggles you often get in pre-season. We start the season with no injuries. We're missing two important players through suspension. But we're in good shape.

“I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone – all the staff and players – because we've worked really, really well in this period. We've improved different areas of our game. The two lads who joined us this week can help us because they're quality signings but they're not ready to play as part of our team, fully understanding all of our ideas and movement.

“We're all aware of the striker situation but there's no point me coming here to whinge and cry about it. We know all about it. We all know that since we lost Tammy in June, a long time ago, we haven't done anything to make up for it yet. It's a situation we all know about. And of course, our general manager and the club are doing everything they can to find a solution. I coach the players I have to work with.

“Once again I ask our fans to be strikers for us. We need them. We find ourselves without two players who are fundamental for us. We've worked well this week in the lead-up to this match. The fans can help by giving us an extra gear. Having the stadium packed out in the middle of August, with this heat, is unbelievable. And to those fans who are a bit angry because of the flag issue and who want to come in 10 minutes later, I say, 'Let's just go, with or without flags.' We need everyone. I trust my players. We'll be up for it tomorrow.”

How are you expecting Salernitana to play?

“They're a team with the potential to challenge for the European spots. They have an excellent coach and highly experienced players. Last year they picked up lots and lots of good results. They didn't win that many games but they lost very few. I'm expecting a difficult match. But then what match is easy in Serie A? There aren't any. You never know.

“We all know we'll be missing Lorenzo [Pellegrini] and Paulo [Dybala] but sometimes football surprises me because we're so many years behind. Starting a competition where the aim is to take the competition as high as possible and keep the quality as high as possible, and have players suspended because they accumulated yellow cards the season before is, I think, behind the times. If the suspension is for a sending off, I can understand that of course. But going from one season to the next and keeping players out for yellows – that's really behind the times, in my view.”

What do Leandro Paredes and Renato Sanches bring? And what can you tell us about Nemanja Matic's departure?

“Mr Matic should tell you, if he wants to say anything. After listening to what Rennes' sporting director, Florian Maurice, had to say, we don't need to add anything else. He said he'd been speaking to Nemanja for over a month, that he'd been negotiating for more than a month. There's nothing to add.

“I'm happy with Paredes. Let's say very happy. He's a player a like a lot. He didn't have a great season with Juventus last season, although he won the World Cup. Which is the pinnacle for any footballer. But it wasn't a good season for him at Juventus. He had no pre-season as he worked with a small group in Paris. No group work, no ball work, no matches. But he came here in good condition, especially mentally, and he could help us tomorrow. He'll start on the bench. He won't have many minutes in him but he can help us with his experience and his football brain.”

So much has been written about your relations within the club, about Roma's plans with you, about your possible contract renewal, about a summer meeting with the president in Portugal. Have you spoken? Have you made plans? Have you been reassured? Will you have what you want? We last saw you after Sevilla saying that you deserve better, that the team deserves better. Have you had what you think you deserve?

“Hopefully at the end of the transfer window we can assess our overall transfer business. It's hard to do that now. But lots of things have been done and done well. Very well. Our general manager and the club did well to get that 30 million quickly in June, under pressure. I also helped with players whose value was close to zero, and a year or two later those players helped save the club in a tricky situation. But the general manager and the club did a great job. Considering the financial and legal restrictions our club has, we did an excellent job. It's very hard to do better given all the difficulties.

“Analyses can be highly critical or super positive but a bit of balance wouldn't go amiss. Paredes, Renato Sanches and [Houssem] Aouar are three players I like. But how much did Aouar play last season? He basically didn't play all year because his contract was expiring and he had problems with Lyon. Paredes didn't have an amazing season last year, he didn't train with us and he did very little in pre-season. Renato had a series of injuries that meant he wasn't able to play with any sort of consistency last term. They're players I'm happy with but players we need to work with. They need to be prepared properly and protected.

“Let's not make comparisons with other clubs who spent loads of money on very good players in different circumstances.

“I'm happy about [Diego] Llorente and [Evan] Ndicka. We realised last season that Llorente was up to playing for Roma. Ndicka needs to learn to play with us. He's not able to do that yet. But once again, the club did well with him.

“It hurts me to read certain things about [Roger] Ibanez. It's too easy to say that he messed up in a couple of big games and that people don't forget. It would be far more honest to say that Ibanez was a fantastic player for us. Our fastest defender, the most dangerous from set plays, the most reliable pressing high with his agility and recoveries.

“Sometimes I read that the players who left weren't important but again, apart from the striker, the club and Tiago Pinto have done an amazing job. I can't say I'm super happy. The league starts tomorrow, not the 29th or 31st of August. Of course it's difficult but I'm respectful. I'm calm. I'm not angry and I'm not arguing with anyone. I always try to be positive here. And I am positive – also because my players need my positivity.

“I'm convinced that the general manager and the club want the same things I want. We're not on opposite sides of the river. We're together.

“The truth is that I'm the coach and when we go out to play, Stefano Rapetti will be in the dugout to help the lads. But even when we take to the field tomorrow, I'll be the coach.”

Have you spoken to the Friedkins about the club's plans?

“I don't think Mr Friedkin would be happy if I spoke about my relationship with him. About how many times he called me, he met me, whether or not he went to Portugal, whether we met in Lisbon or at my home in Setubal. He's an incredibly reserved person who shies away from the spotlight. I'm employed by him. How can I comment on my relationship with the owners?”

Has it been explained to you why a player hasn't been signed yet or have you been told that money will be spent before the window closes?

“There are certain numbers I haven't properly understood. This FFP situation, the agreement that Roma signed with UEFA, there are points I still haven't understood very well. Mainly when comparisons are made with other clubs, who are under FFP themselves. Not to mention other clubs who play in a completely different universe to ours.

“But from a legal point of view, it's not my job as the coach to try and understand everything or comment on it. As I said before, I work with the players available to me. I have to trust the words of the general manager and the club, that the transfer window won't shut without us finding a solution. In an interview I gave a few weeks ago, I said in jest that if [Kylian] Mbappe joined on 31 August he would be joining late. Talking about the best striker in the world. And we're late. It's something we know, the players know, the management know, the owners know. If a solution hasn't been found yet, it's because they haven't been able to, because they haven't had the same success as they've had with other players in other positions. I can wait but I still have to play tomorrow.

“And I have to rely on the people in the dugout and in the dressing room. They're well prepared to do the job – it's something we've been working on since the start of pre-season. There were games when I wasn't in the dugout, games when I didn't go into the dressing room, games where I sat in the dugout and didn't speak. We've prepared people as well as possible.

“The players have prepared well. Very well. I'm focused on tomorrow. We'll see if anything happens next week. And if it doesn't, we'll go to Verona with the same mindset – that we're a united group who believes in their potential. We'll go out there tomorrow.”

What advantages does Roma's new way of playing offer? More stability in midfield or more options going forward? And could Pellegrini play alongside Aouar in a midfield three?

“Yes, they can play together. It depends on the moment, on their form, on the opponent. Besides the new players we've brought in, we have players who offer us different options. In midfield we have multi-functional players. There's not one who can only do one job. Bryan can happily play as a 6 or 8. Aouar and Lorenzo 8 or 10. Renato is more of a real 8. Paredes pivot or double pivot. Bove 8 and pivot. We have different possibilities.”

Last season it seemed there was more of a political problem with you than a pitch problem. Have you thought about your relations with football institutions this year?

“One thing is Roma and another thing is me. It's very simple: I don't want to get into politics. I don't want to get into institutions. I'm only interested in one thing: the pitch, the match, referees, fourth official, the dugout. The only thing that interests me is the same for everyone. Honesty.

“I'm not interested in whether someone likes me. During the game, if I'm a referee I look at Mourinho, I look at Paulo Sousa, I look at Salernitana, everyone the same. I'll give you a little challenge for tomorrow. Look at my dugout and look at Salernitana's dugout. At the end of the game we'll pay our compliments to the match officials as they'll have treated the two dugouts the same way. I don't want to go any further than that. The match, referee, fourth official, pitch, same possibilities for everyone, everyone equal. Roma dugout the same as the other. If that happens, we'll have a perfect season.”

Has Matic's departure strengthened team unity a little? How have the new signings settled into the team?

“Mr Matic leaving was not something we expected. Roma had an instant, fantastic response. Nemanja Matic played 50 games for us, 75% of all our games. He's a fabulous player who was very, very important for us. We lost him but in his place we have Paredes and Renato, not Peppino and Tonino. There's only a problem if there's no replacement. We have two players who aren't completely ready yet but if we get them back on track physically and mentally they're two top-quality players, so it's not as if we've lost anything.

“Team unity has always been fantastic. Players who leave do so crying. The team and I are still in contact with Sergio Oliveira, [Jordan] Veretout, [Amadou] Diawara, Felix [Afena-Gyan], [Cristian] Volpato, [Benjamin] Tahirovic. I wouldn't say every day but we're still a family. Others have arrived and been welcomed and we hope they understand our group dynamics immediately. We're all together. And we start tomorrow.”