Ranieri looks ahead to Fiorentina clash

This is what he had to say...

How is the team doing? We saw Manu Kone in the holding role against Inter – is that an option that could be repeated in future? 

“The players are fine. We have [Victor] Nelsson and Saud [Abdulhamid] fit again so we have everyone available. “Kone is a versatile player who can play in lots of positions. We saw him operating in a double pivot for France against Italy and he did well. He's a smart lad who can adapt to different positions, whether it's a box-to-box role or in front of the defence. I can play him either here or there depending on the opponents.”

What do you think will be the decisive factor in the race for Champions League football?

“It depends on the team's energy and the small details. Whoever makes the most of their opportunities will have a good chance. Those two things. The team's energy levels and who is fitter in this long battle to get into something big. I always say I don't like to promise anything. I'm ambitious and I want 100% from myself. I'm always self-critical and I expect the same from my players. When it's all done and dusted, we'll see what we've been able to achieve. Without having any regrets or thinking about what might have been. That doesn't get you points. Being determined and focused gets you points. “On Sunday we'll be up against a mighty fine team who have only lost once in their last ten games, which was last night. And I think Fiorentina have every chance of reaching the final. They beat Juventus 3-0. In ten matches, one defeat, four draws and five wins. Including a victory against Atalanta and a 2-2 draw away to Milan. They have lots of good players, lots of quality, so we're going to need a great performance. It's a game we must be very wary of.”

Is Artem Dovbyk a player you're counting on for the future?

“I still believe in him. He's made a lot of progress and he still has plenty of room for improvement. He's not a bad signing because La Liga's top scorer is no small fry. Some players adapt more quickly than others. You remember how [Edin] Dzeko did in his first season. I think he's earned us lots of important points and has had a decent first season. He does need to improve but he's got the means to do so.”

Would you say Dovbyk is one of the players definitely staying for next season or is everyone up for discussion?

“I don't like talking about these things. I like to think about what we can achieve this season. That sort of talk can only distract us from the here and now. What happens after the end of the season is another matter. That goes for Dovbyk as it does for everyone else.”

Is there anything that could make you change your mind about staying on in the dugout? Like playing in the Champions League or a massive salary?

“No, nothing. I love my club and anything that could make me stay on, selfishly, for another year would be wrong for Roma. So I say no. A new coach will come in and he'll need to be given time. He'll spend a year with me and get the chance to learn about everything. I'll help him in any way he wants me to.”

Would qualifying for the Champions League be an even greater feat than your title win with Leicester?

“No, nothing could be a greater feat than Leicester, even though I love Roma. What happened there was truly unbelievable. This would be another fond memory for my heart. That's why I say let's keep fighting. We mustn't have any regrets, excuses or anything. We have four matches to play and we have to give blood, sweat and tears.”

Why has Leo Paredes not been playing so much recently?

“Because I've picked other players. Everyone is fine, everyone is available, and I choose the players I think are most likely to help me win the game. It's the same for [Alexis] Saelemaekers, [Mats] Hummels and others who are playing less now and played more before. Everyone is fine and my players are giving me quite the selection headache. When I say I decide at the last minute, on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, it's true. All my considerations are based on our opponents and how we can cause problems for them. So I go with the players I think are best suited.”

Could we see Dovbyk and Eldor Shomurodov together again on Sunday?

“Regardless of anything else, that's something you've asked me about many times. And I perhaps thought about it more than I should have. They can play together, whether we have two or three forwards. They're complementary players. They help the team. It's an option.”

We've spoken about the Champions League race...

[Ranieri interrupts the journalist] “You guys have spoken about the Champions League.”

So Roma are in the hunt. Don't you think?

“I think we need to keep working hard, not make any promises and give it everything we've got. That doesn't mean we're not ambitious, that we're not determined. Work, work, work.”

So we should expect the new coach to be announced after the end of the season?

“It will be when the owner decides it is the best time.”

I'd like to ask you how you prepare for games.

“It's as I've said, really. That's how I work. I look at who's in good shape and when they're all in good shape I look at the opposition and how they play, then I try to slip grains of sand in between their cogs so that I can win. That's how I see football.”

I meant that from watching your matches, it seems you prepare differently depending on the type of game. On that note, did the Inter game open up new tactical horizons?

“I've never asked my team to sit back and wait. Clearly, our opponents were better as they adapted to us as well. Like against Juventus: 'Let's go and press them high and see what happens.' Our opponents have their own strategies and we must be good enough to counter them. Sometimes we're able to do that immediately and sometimes we struggle more than we'd like, then we read the game and the lads manage to play better. It's as simple as that. I might say to them, 'Let's wait for them halfway between their area and the halfway line.' Because if they use their goalkeeper a lot why should we push up and press their goalkeeper too when they have an extra man? These are all strategies that we can adopt. Then if your opponent is good and gets the better of you on a given occasion, you drop back into defence and wait. Like a boxer: you defend yourself and try to land a sucker punch, if you're able to. Otherwise you keep taking the blows and just try to hold on.

”How important do you think the construction of a new stadium is to grow the club?

“Clubs have won without a new stadium and with much smaller grounds. But if you want to compete with the big boys, and also just for the reputation of Italian football... Because everywhere we go we see beautiful stadiums. Like Real Betis's last night. The whole world is modernising. And we're the ones acting the slowest. There's too much red tape, too many people involved, too many things. And quite honestly it's embarrassing for Italy. If someone does something wrong, they should go to jail. And stay there. Throw away the key. We're fed up with this.”

If you build on the Inter result, will that put even more pressure on the team?

“No, we don't have any pressure. We know where we started out. We shouldn't have any pressure. We were drowning. We managed to get our head above water and start breathing again. And now that we're breathing, we have to swim as hard as we can. The others have pressure. The teams that were up there from the start.”

Is Shomurodov a Roma player of the future?

“He's been excellent this year with what he's shown, with the commitment he shows. He gives you everything he has. They all need to give everything they've got. Then it's up to me to decide whether or not to change strategy, if I see that someone is tired. I love him and I've always said that he's a smashing lad. Of course he makes mistakes too. But he never lets up. He'd go up into the Curva Nord to harry an opponent. And I think the fans are happy and appreciate how much effort he puts into everything.”