Gasperini's pre-Verona press conference

This is what he had to say...

Apart from Paulo Dybala and Leon Bailey, is everyone else fit? Given that this is your third game in a week, are you planning to rotate?

“Besides those two, there are no other difficult situations. I never like to make wholesale changes. Those who are doing well in this period need to play regularly so that we can fully grasp certain game situations that we're getting better at. The team is improving with each match. It's not a fitness problem because we played on Wednesday, so we have an extra day before Sunday. When you're fit, you can keep playing even if you're a bit sore. We always have five substitutions and that makes a big difference in the game. It means you can field a fresh, competitive team, then of course there may be some problems. We play tomorrow, Thursday then again on Sunday. When you have two or three weeks in a row with midweek games, you always need to make some changes, but my plan is not to change the team, then you can get help from the subs.”

You've won four of your five games so far, so it's been an excellent start. Did you expect – or hope for – such a good start?

“I don't know if it's the best. I don't look at stats much. Besides, I've had so many seasons and there have been good starts and not so good starts. This one has definitely been good as far as the results go. But what I really want to see at the start of the season is the team making progress, doing a bit more, playing with more confidence in every match. We want more players involved and improving their performances, but you have to sow before you reap. We're pleased with the results, and they help, but we have to look beyond that. We need to grow the team, help them play better, make them more solid, give them more belief, and then keep adding reliable players.”

What are you working on with the team to improve your attacking play?

“On getting everyone involved when it comes to building moves and finishing moves. The better you build, the more dangerous situations you can create. [Gianluca] Mancini's goal the other night – besides being an important one – was an example of players getting forward effectively, attacking the goal that way, and that's something we can do with more players. Of course the attacking players are the ones who are closest. When you make a run from deep, you might get into those positions X number of times, and if you're already in attack much more, but I believe that your attacking play needs to be effective as a whole if you want more goals from your strikers.”

How are Daniele Ghilardi and Jan Ziolkowski coming along?

“Ghilardi and Ziolkowski are doing well. They're training well and their time will come. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for Roma, there are four players ahead of them who are doing very well and my first priority is always the team. At the moment [Zeki] Celik, [Mario] Hermoso, [Evan] Ndicka and Mancini are very effective and very important for Roma. Regardless of any individual considerations, the team always comes first.”

Could Artem Dovbyk play or is Evan Ferguson ahead of him in the pecking order? How far has Dovbyk come? 

“Neither of them is ahead. They're always both in contention, depending on the period, the moment and the games we have to play. Dovbyk seems to be improving his fitness – he's certainly a lot better than he was at the start of the season when we started pre-season training. His improvement depends on that too. He needs to be in top shape fitness-wise for him to improve technically too.”

Are you considering a four-man defence against Verona, given the way they play, or will you stick with three?

“Both options are possible. You can play with a midfielder in that role or have a defender push up to the opposition player who's furthest forward. It's true that at Atalanta we tried a four-man system at times but when you've been in the same place for a long time it's easier to make changes, whereas right now we need to consolidate certain things before adding others. Like I said earlier, with defenders pushing up. Games like tomorrow's can be dangerous. It's a different type of game. If your play is sterile, if you don't push, if you lack energy, if you're not able to create openings, you risk losing. We head into this game after winning the derby and getting off to a good start in the Europa League. We need to play with vigour, strength and energy so that we don't repeat the sort of performance we had against Torino. We must maintain a high tempo, bearing in mind the difficulties we might face.”

Your team has only conceded one goal in the league so far and it's your best start in that respect. Have you changed something? It almost looks like it's still Claudio Ranieri's team in some ways...

“You guys are better placed to comment on that as you've witnessed both situations. I see my own situation so I can only talk about these matches and I can't make comparisons. From [Mile] Svilar to [Matias] Soule, we have seven or eight players, maybe ten, who are very reliable and switched on. Switched on and competitive always. They are the very important core of this team at the moment. If we can, we'll add [Lorenzo] Pellegrini, [Devyne] Rensch, [Kostas] Tsimikas and others, but at the moment they are the reliable, effective core of this Roma team that's always present. They guarantee results – not just when they score goals, as Ndicka and Mancini did – but above all when we have to defend to hold on to a lead. As we've had to do in the last two games.”

Do you need to solve something on the left side of attack while you wait for Bailey to return?

“I'm not thinking about Bailey as he's been out for a long time.”

Can Neil El Aynaoui cover different positions in midfield? Could it be time for Stephan El Shaarawy?

"El Aynaoui can play anywhere in midfield. We have to keep pushing hard with everything we've got. El Shaarawy was the youngest debutant at Genoa. I still expect certain things from him.”

How is Pellegrini after these two games?

"Lorenzo has given the best answer of the lot. He was fundamental in the derby.”

Could there be a rivalry developing between Angelino and Tsimikas?

"Angelino is a good player and he can't be a problem. Tsimikas showed he was ready when he came in against Nice and he'll be a very handy player. We can't kill Angelino. They'll both play depending on the match.”