Gasperini's media conference before Cagliari

Here's what he had to say.

Can you give us an update on the condition of a few players after this week of work? In particular, how is Angelino after he returned to training yesterday? And how are Paulo Dybala and Evan Ferguson?

“Angelino didn't have a muscle or a joint problem. The tests were ok and he started training again yesterday. In the last few weeks he's been training separately but training quite well. When the doctors give the all-clear for him to play, we'll use him.

“It hasn't been an easy week because lots of players have had niggles or flu, like [Manu] Kone and [Neil] El Aynaoui. I still need to have a look at Wesley. I don't think we'll risk him tomorrow but we'll see this afternoon. [Tommaso] Baldanzi and Dybala had the flu. It wasn't exactly the week I hoped for.

“However, we still have some 'highlanders' who never ease up and are always present. I'll try to take everyone to Cagliari, but I have to consider that we have a Europa League game on Thursday and then Como the Monday after.”

Do you think you have a squad capable of going all the way in three competitions? And do you see the hunger in the players who have been playing less to move up the pecking order?

“Numbers-wise, we have enough players in the squad. We're struggling a little at the moment because of this virus. The only injured player right now is [Artem] Dovbyk. We have a full squad to work with but there are always situations where some of the guys are in better or worse shape. Dovbyk is on his way back. Anyway, in terms of numbers, we have a full squad.

“As for the players who have played less, they've all impressed me – [Daniele] Ghilardi to start with, but also [Jan] Ziolowski, Baldanzi and [Niccolo] Pisilli. I'm very happy with them and I'm sure they'll see more playing time.

“We have a squad that's capable of dealing with all the competitions. What we need is for that strong core group to keep performing at a very high level as they have done until now, and at the same time we have to raise the level of a few players – especially in attack – who haven't been so consistent: the likes of Dovbyk, Ferguson, Dybala and [Stephan] El Shaarawy. They are four very important players and if we can up their performance levels a little, and especially their consistency, there might be margin for us to do even better.”

You've shown us you can play without a big striker up top. You went down that route with Dybala and Baldanzi, then Ferguson returned against Napoli. How do you explain that choice? I also wanted to ask about Dybala: after the Europa League game you said that he had some difficulty playing at centre forward in recent games. Will we see him in that position again?

“Dybala's only problem is whether he can play. Otherwise he can't play there or anywhere else. The problem is he had that run of games up to the one against Milan, and that was very good, but it was three or four and then we had this little setback. The only problem with Dybala is having him at his best. This week he was unavailable until today because of this flu. He trained on his own yesterday. Today he was back with the team. Obviously Dybala is a key player for us but we need to try and get the consistency he's only at in brief spells.

“There are lots of ways you can play in attack. It depends on the skill sets available to you. Baldanzi did well against Cremonese and against Napoli on Sunday he had a clear chance too. [Playing at centre forward] is not his position and we know that, but we've been without Ferguson and Dovbyk, and Dybala covered for us until he was no longer available. He did very well. If you want to play with him at centre forward, you have to play a certain way. If Ferguson or Dovbyk play there, they offer different attributes, but that's football, isn't it?.

Will Neil El Anayoui and Evan Ndicka be available for the Como match?

 “I don't have that certainty yet.”

Getting back to the centre forward question, what do you expect of Baldanzi and Dybala – who are different players to Dovbyk and Ferguson – when they play in that position? Can you explain what sort of job you want from a “light-weight” attack?

“When you find yourself without Ferguson and Dovbyk at the same time, you look for the best alternative solution within the squad. You look for speed, technique, one-twos, keeping the ball on the ground. Remember the goal that [Lorenzo] Pellegrini had disallowed against Cremonese when Baldanzi was playing? Obviously you try to exploit the qualities of the players you have available. If you're without those two players [Ferguson and Dovbyk], you look for the best qualities you can find within the squad. It's not that [Matias] Soule or Pellegrini can't do that job. In theory anyone could play there with their individual skill set.”

So far Leon Bailey has looked a bit like a fish out of water. Is it just a problem of him having been sidelined and not working with the team or is there something else to it? What sort of player have you seen from him so far? Can he raise his game?

“Let's hope so. He was out for three months and of course in that time the others were going strong. He's in a team that's going strong and always performing, always compact, always responsive in training and in games. It's not easy playing catch-up, especially at a time like December, when everyone is going strong. The tempo is high, you've fallen behind and you have to catch up quickly. That's what we're trying to do and hopefully he can train consistently. He's been training for two weeks now. He's a player we're counting on, like the others I mentioned earlier – Dybala, Ferguson, Dovbyk. Because if they start firing and become consistent, we'll be more competitive.”

Do you have a group of leaders you look to within the team?

“I really trust everyone. We have an amazing dressing room in that sense. Starting with Mile [Svilar]... and the other goalkeepers who aren't playing. All of the defence: Ndicka is a leader, [Mario] Hermoso is a leader, [Gianluca] Mancini is a leader. Ghilardi and Ziolkowski are two youngsters who haven't skipped a minute of training and it's been very tough for them. I'm very happy that Ghilardi produced that performance because it means he's up to it. It will be the same for Ziolkowski. They're all great lads. The same goes for all of them: [Devyne] Rensch is always present. [Kostas] Tsimikas, with his difficulties, is always present. Soule is extraordinary. We've had a few players missing for longer periods but with the others it's not more than a few days. The players who have been missing for long periods have all been in the same area of the pitch, yet despite that, thanks to these players we have, Roma have had an excellent campaign so far. And that's how we all intend to continue.

“I haven't mentioned Pisilli – he's another fantastic lad. Last time I told you he's been somewhat penalised because he's a great player. He deserves to play more and I don't want to stop him because if he can play for Roma, that would be the best thing. It's understandable he wants to play more, but he's being very professional about it. He's always ready. We saw that with Baldanzi: he got the chance to play and he's had a good chance. The strength of this Roma team is the group. This is a group of players with an incredible mentality.”

My question is about Pisilli. With El Aynaoui heading off for the Africa Cup of Nations, could he take his place? Or will you maybe look to fill the place with a new signing?

“Definitely, but also on the back of what he's doing in training. I stuck with the midfield we had because they were doing really well. At the start El Aynaoui still needed to adapt. I had to stick with him for a bit but then he produced some superb performances. [Bryan] Cristante is a guarantee too. Pisilli has found himself up against three highlanders who didn't leave much space for him, but I very much believe in him. As I said before, I'd rather he were playing regularly than for him to become a problem for me. But I'd like for him to be able to play here.”

I'd like to ask you about two Cagliari players: the first is Marco Palestra, who you worked with at Atalanta. And could Yerry Mina not being available affect your team selection in attack?

“Mina being unavailable doesn't change anything. We try to put out our best team. 

“Palestra is doing very well. He's another one of those players – although he's only 20 years old – who was in and around the first team at Atalanta for years. Last year he had a good season in Serie C with the Under 23s. He already had a lot of interest. This year he's got playing time at Cagliari and he's doing really well. He's an important player. He often had lots of players in front of him, like [Raoul] Bellanova. It just shows that youngsters can play. And when they play, they improve. 

“It's not easy for teams playing for the top prizes: either you come out and say that, as a club, you're going to blood young players, aware of the fact that you could pay for it a little in the short term but then reap the benefits later. Otherwise, if you have good, reliable players in front of them, then the youngsters need to look for playing time at less ambitious clubs. You have to strike the right balance.”

How's Antonio Arena looking after an excellent U17 World Cup? Could he make the squad for tomorrow's game?

“He's in the squad. I've always found it productive to have a squad of 17 players plus some youngsters to develop, but they're situations you have to create beforehand so that you can give space to those coming from the academy. However, the more ambitious you are, and the better the results you're after, the more difficult it is to think like that in Italy.”

We're now into December. Can we take stock of Ferguson's situation, given that he's on loan under certain conditions for next summer? There's talk he might go back to Brighton early. What's your position on that?

“I've never spoken about that. I don't know if his agent has said anything. I'll talk to the club about it in January if it comes to it. In this period there's always talk about lots of players but all it takes is for someone to score two goals and everything changes. Or a player can produce two or three big performances and people's opinions change. I think it's too early. There are lots of games to play and they can completely change any strategy you might have.”

Could we say that Pellegrini is becoming a Gasperini player?

 “No, Pellegrini is a Roma player. He's a great player, a solid player, but that's nothing new to you. He's also a great lad. He's one of those captains we have who care immensely about the team, the season and how well we perform.”