Ranieri comments on 3-0 win over Braga

Here's what Claudio Ranieri had to say about his team's showing after the final whistle...

Let's start with the performance: Roma had 17 shots on goal today, more than any other game this season, and Braga didn't even have one.

“It was a good performance, although we held onto the ball a bit too much at times. That's ok though – we can't expect everything immediately. The lads pushed forward as I want them to. They wanted to win and entertain the fans, and the fans are entertained when you create goalscoring chances. When you score them as well, it's even more of a bonus.”

Besides the collective performance, there are two individuals we could pick out. You showed faith in Lorenzo Pellegrini and he repaid you by scoring. Then there's Saud Abdulhamid, who was very much an unknown quantity but he was on fire today.

“When I first came here, he was on fire in training so I thought it was a shame not to try him. As I've said, I didn't have the advantage of friendly games so I wasn't sure whether to play him or not in previous matches because I didn't know how he would respond. But he's responded well. It's all good for Roma.

What about Pellegrini?

“I'm happy for Pellegrini. I could see on the training ground that he'd found his scoring boots again. I'm pleased for him.”

What was the secret to restoring unity in the camp in such a short space of time?

“I spoke to the players and I said: 'Help me because I can't afford to get anything wrong. Give me everything you have and I'll try to help from the dugout if I can do something for you.' I think the main thing was restoring their self-belief because they didn't just forget how to play football. They're getting there now, slowly but surely. It's still the start, at least of my time with them, and we have a long way to go and a lot of improvement to make.”

Did you expect to find such a midfield general in Manu Kone? How much room for improvement do you think he has?

“Having seen him on TV, you could tell he was a great player. As for improving, he needs to understand when to run with the ball and when to play two-touch. I said to him, 'In the second half you started running, but you should let the ball do the running, that way you get the whole team involved. We're getting there slowly...”