Gasperini previews Celtic clash

This is what the Giallorossi boss had to say.

Is Paulo Dybala ready to play 90 minutes?

“When a player is fit, he can play. He had the flu but you get over it. He's been training for many months. You might have a temporary problem but then you get over it, like anyone else.”

Roma's chances dried up again against Napoli and Cagliari. Was that just a coincidence or is it something that worries you?

“We haven't been particularly prolific all season so it's probably a structural deficit we have. We've done well at times but we didn't create much in the last two games. It wasn't easy against Napoli but we didn't produce much at Cagliari either, where the conditions weren't easy and we didn't manage to create dangerous openings. It's never a problem with one single area. We need to get back to playing well as a team – that will help us pose more of a threat in attack.”

You've always avoided the tiredness argument in the past, but to us outside observers the team has looked a little tired. Is there some truth in that or is it just our impression?

“It depends what kind of tiredness you're talking about. It's not physical fatigue, looking at the data. We've certainly been less efficient during the match. I find it hard to imagine what kind of fatigue it could be. Our games are four days apart – it's not as if there's not enough time to recover. There might be some mental fatigue due to other situations but from a fitness perspective the players are running until the end.”

Evan Ferguson seems to be lacking a spark to be able to perform consistently. Could he improve or get more playing time between now and January?

“There's no favouristism with the players – it's all about performances. Ferguson has had lots of opportunities, apart from when he was out injured. We want to give him time and obviously we can. He's a young player so you can expect better performances than what he's produced so far. [Mario] Hermoso here is an example of that. I had no relationship with him beforehand, like with Ferguson, but Hermoso's qualities have helped him become a pillar of this team. Not just on a technical level but also in the dressing room, on the pitch against opponents, for what he shows in the match. I really hope it can be the same for Ferguson. He's very young and he was sidelined for a year. What we haven't been able to get out of him so far, maybe we'll be able to get out of him in the future.”

You've had this Scottish double header in the space of a few weeks, with Rangers first and now Celtic. What do you think of Celtic?

“Celtic are an excellent team as we saw in their last game, when they played really well despite the bad result. It's never easy playing away in this wonderful stadium, which oozes tradition and history. I think it will be a great game tomorrow, between two teams trying to secure big points with just a few matches left in the league stage.”

Where are you at with experimenting in the centre forward role? We've seen several players playing there in recent games.

“We've had lots of players unavailable and some for long spells – like [Artem] Dovbyk and Ferguson. But Baldanzi and Dybala have played there too. Baldanzi is the one who's often done well but so have the others, albeit a bit more sporadically. But as I said earlier, that's not the only problem – it's our overall attacking play. [Gianluca] Mancini's assist for [Zeki] Celik was the high point. We need to get back to that.”

Celtic have switched to a back three with their new coach. As someone who helped popularise this system, can you explain what advantages it offers? And having seen Celtic's last match, did you notice any improvements?

“They played well and the [opposition's] goals were fortuitous, one from a corner. They played well. It just shows that more than the formation it's the details that make the difference. It's true that it's a tactical system that's become quite widespread in Europe now. Years ago it was a new thing with Atalanta. I don't know how Celtic are going to play tomorrow but they're a team I like. They played an attacking, open game and gave me an excellent impression, result aside.”

Do you have any news about Evan Ndicka and Neil El Aynaoui going to the Africa Cup of Nations?

“We don't have any certainty at the moment but hopefully we will tomorrow. Monday is not far off. The associations are discussing it. I can say that Celik will play tomorrow. I'd like to give [Niccolo] Pisilli more time. We must be very careful as it's a real game, a European game. I have to see if El Aynaoui has completely recovered from this little knee niggle he's had for a few days. Ndicka could play every day or every four days – it's all quite relative [laughing]!”