Mancini speaks on the eve of trip to Rangers

Here is what he had to say.

What kind of answers did the match against Milan give you? The coach was pleased with the quality of your play.

“I agree with what the coach said and the game showed just that. It was an intense match. The only disappointment was the result, but what we created, the improvements we showed on the pitch, the conviction and energy we played with throughout, give us confidence to keep working and to approach the next matches with even greater self-belief in what we do.

Tomorrow’s match will surely be played in a fiery atmosphere at a difficult ground to visit. Will your approach be one of the keys to doing well? And how are you finding this new role on the right side of the back three, which often sees you push forward?

“The atmosphere in every match is important, but only up to a point. What really matters is what happens on the pitch, how you prepare for the game and how you approach it. Starting well is certainly an advantage, but you have to stay focused for the full 90 minutes, knowing how important the match is.

As for the role, it’s not new to me. I’ve played in every position: left centre-back, right centre-back and in the middle. Wherever the coach puts me, I try to do as well as I can, giving my all and hoping to perform well. Central, left, right, even midfield, it’s all fine for me.”

Against Milan, did the coach criticise you for the move that led to their goal – when you even overlapped Zeki Celik or did he compliment you for being bold?

 “He didn’t say anything. It was an attacking move and sometimes I or other defenders see a gap and push forward. I scored a goal like that at Nice, and in other matches I came close.

“It can happen. We went forward and they broke quickly. These things are part of the game and that’s also how the coach wants us to play. It’s not as if I went forward ten times in the first half and again in the second. I just read that situation and Milan scored from it, but the coach didn’t say anything to me about it.”

It looks like you’re enjoying yourself more in this position.

“As a wide centre-back? Yes, I’m enjoying it and I don’t just say that for the sake of it. I enjoy playing this kind of football, the way we’re playing now. As I said, right, left, centre, midfield, wherever the coach puts me. I enjoy this sport in any position. There isn’t one that I like more or less. On the right, I have certain responsibilities, in the centre others, but I always try to do my best wherever the coach plays me.”

You mentioned self-belief after the Milan match. Within a team, does a defeat like that take more away from you or does a performance like that, full of self-belief, give you more?

“You need self-belief in football. It always has to be high, not just after Sunday’s match but from the previous ones too. Against Inter, Sassuolo, Parma, Milan... We’ve been trying things in training with the coach and maybe at the start of the season, we weren’t doing them in matches in the way that we are now. That gives you that sense of self-belief and that feeling of ‘we know how to do this, we can do this’.

“We also see how our opponents view us and how they face us, so it’s just a matter of continuing along this path, always aiming to do even better.”