Gasperini speaks ahead of Torino v Roma

This is what the coach had to say:

“The passing of [Rocco] Commisso has come as a shock, although we knew about his condition. Regardless of any on-field rivalries, the essence of life obviously comes before anything else. It's the same club that went through the [Joe] Barone tragedy when we were supposed to play, as well as the [Davide] Astori tragedy. It's sad that the club has been so tormented by these things.”

“Speaking of Fiorentina, this morning [Edoardo] Bove was here to terminate his contract and he'll go to play in England. That's great news for him at least: he'll finally be able to play football again, which is what he so desperately wants. So some bad news and some good news.”

Getting to tomorrow's game, what's the overall condition of the team? You've lost a few players, like Evan Ferguson. Can you give us your initial view of the two new signings, Donyell Malen and Robinio Vaz?

“Regarding our general condition, the team is definitely in a better place than it has been the last 15-20 days, around the end of December and start of January. [Evan] Ndicka is back and we got through the suspensions of [Mario] Hermoso, [Gianluca] Mancini and [Bryan] Cristante. [Lorenzo] Pellegrini will return and probably Ferguson too. He picked up a nasty knock but he seems to have got over it after a week. We'll look at him today and he could be in the squad. We have two new signings and that helps us numbers-wise. We're going to Torino upset after getting knocked out of the Coppa Italia but we've had some excellent results in the league and we're in a good position, so it will be a different game.

“As for the new players, Vaz has trained twice and Malen once. They're two completely different signings. One is clearly for the future: a very young, quality player who we'll get to know over time. The other is Malen, who is a Netherlands international, and I'm very happy he's joined. I think it was made possible partly thanks to Ryan Friedkin being here; otherwise it would have been very difficult. It was organised very quickly: when the opportunity arose, I spoke to Ryan and [Frederic] Massara, we got the green light and the deal was wrapped up in a very short space of time.

“I think we've signed a really good player and I'm sure he'll do very well. He has the right qualities but like any new player he might need a bit of time to settle in before he can play consistently. However, he played quite a lot at Aston Villa and he regularly starts for the Netherlands. I'm sure he'll be very popular.”

How can you be successful with a team that has several under 23 players?

“That's not possible of course. But let's say we're standing on both sides of the fence. We have a core that is very strong. Clearly we need to improve in attack with players like Malen. At the same time, the club is looking to the future and investing in youngsters who can't be expected to be competitive immediately against the teams we have to play against in Serie A and especially against the top teams. The idea is to build a team that can be consistent and achieve something lasting – not something that needs to be rebuilt every year.”

Malen is a versatile player but he said he prefers to play at centre forward. Could we see him playing alongside another striker in future, so slightly off centre, or mainly as a centre forward?

“We'll see. We can't be thinking too much about the future now. At the moment he's a centre forward. That's the position he prefers, where he can exploit his pace and his ability to shoot quickly and powerfully with both feet. So I think he needs to play close to the goal.”

With the signings of Malen and Robinio Vaz, would you say your attacking options are complete or do you expect something else to happen in the January window?

“I've said this before and I'll say it again: I only talk about these matters with the owners. It depends on what opportunities there are: the player immediately said he was interested and the deal was done in next to no time. When negotiations start to get drawn out, they often become difficult to complete.”

Marco Baroni has said that you are one of the top ten coaches in Europe. He's a coach you've often played against. How do you rate him?

“Baroni has done an excellent job wherever he's been. At youth level and then with professional teams, he's always obtained great results. He's well respected here in Rome too because he did very well at Lazio. Torino tend to hover around the same positions and perhaps aren't able to make the step up but he's shown he's constantly seeking improvement from his team.”

Last season Matias Soule covered the entire right flank, then you pushed him forward and against Sassuolo he was essentially playing in the hole. How much room for improvement does he have and do you think he can improve in that position where different attributes are needed, like playing back to goal? Or was that an emergency option?

“We've had a full-on emergency for three or four weeks and in that sort of situation you look for everyone to be flexible. I have to say he did well even playing where he did against Sassuolo. It's a position we tried at the start of the year and one where he can play in certain situations. I believe that players should be versatile and not be tied to one position, unless we're talking about the goalkeeper of course, although even goalkeepers have evolved a lot. He's a top-quality player and if he can go from playing on the wing to being more of an attacker, and go from six goals to 10 or 15, then that obviously makes him even more valuable. One thing no one can deny is he's a top-quality player.”

Giacomo Raspadori seemed to be very close to joining and then you signed Malen. Can you tell us what happened? Were they alternative deals or in parallel?

“I'm not giving any explanations. I never spoke to Raspadori but I spoke to Malen. With Malen it was all done in three or four days. As for other negotiations, I don't know. I can only talk about things that involve me directly. I don't know the details and I don't get involved in negotiations. The Malen opportunity arose and, as I said earlier, the owners were very willing to make it happen. Massara then did a good job of getting it done because the deal was already outlined. We spoke to the player and everything went the way it was supposed to. I think we've signed a great player, but as always that will be seen on the pitch.”

Is the club considering opportunities in defence as well or could you remain as you are until the end of the transfer window?

“I don't know about that. You'd have to ask those who work in the market. It's not my job, thankfully. There's always a lot of talk about transfers. Opportunities can arise and disappear in the space of an hour or go on for months. I'm a football man and I think things should always be done very quickly: when situations can be acted upon quickly, that's good.”

Do you expect to see a different Torino team tomorrow to the one from Tuesday in the Coppa Italia or do you think Baroni will stick to the same game plan?

“That's how Torino play. I don't know if he's going to change some players but that would be normal. He has a big squad, with lots of options in midfield and attack especially, a bit less in defence, but it's well rounded. I expect a similar sort of game. I'd be happy to repeat the game, but not the result of course. As I've said many times, I look beyond the result. We had some good chances and got ourselves back into the game twice – which we haven't done before, maybe just in Florence. We had some good chances and we can definitely do better but I think we played well. The end of the match went the way it did: [Antonio] Arena could have scored again. Perhaps it would have been too much but we were close. I was pleased with our performance the other night. I  understand some people don't see it the same way because of the result, but I do.”

Ndicka has been playing in a knockout competition, which is very different to Serie A, and has been away from the Roma staff for a month. How is he looking?

“That's an important point because when players come back from these competitions it always takes a while to readapt to what can be different habits. A month away is a long time. We haven't had much time. I put him straight back in then he had one training session and another today. Obviously it's a different way of playing to what he's used to with his national team. Here you need great focus in marking, which is a bit tighter. Hopefully he'll be able to revert immediately to the focus levels he had before, which were exceptional. We'll see that tomorrow. In any case, it's only a matter of days or perhaps a week. Hopefully he'll be in the right condition for Roma tomorrow.”

Lots of European clubs have started taking note of Neil El Aynaoui, especially after his performances at the Africa Cup of Nations. How has your view of the player changed over the course of these months?

“To be honest, we've always seen him as a young player with a lot of quality. At the start of the season he looked more like an attacking player but I think he's shown, both at Roma and seeing him play for Morocco, that he's a solid midfielder at both ends of the pitch. He's a great athlete first of all, but he's also a mature, intelligent lad. He can get better. I think he's already improved a lot but he'll get better. He was a solid option for us even before going to AFCON.”

What do you need to beat this Torino side and what are the main dangers from a tactical perspective?

“I think the two teams know each other well. I don't really believe in 'bogey teams'. Every match is different. Hopefully a few more things will go our way this time. It's a different competition and we're highly motivated to maintain our position in the league. Regardless of the result, I hope we can play like we did the other night. If we can do that, I think we'll have a good chance.”

How much have Daniele Ghilardi and Jan Ziolkowski improved since the start of the season?

“That's the sort of assessment for you guys to make. They're both really keen to grow and improve but they're more for the future than for the present. Sometimes the process can come at a cost but we're working with continuity in mind and want to build behind the likes of Mancini and Hermoso”