Gasperini's pre-Napoli media conference

This is what the boss had to say:

How are Paulo Dybala and Matias Soule? Are they fully fit?

“We need to have a look at them today. This week has been a bit more difficult for Soule so we need to see. We'll decide this afternoon. It's the same for Dybala. He's been training regularly but he's not 100% either. Everyone wants to be fit and well.”

Nicolo Pisilli has improved tremendously. Would you say he's taken a leap forward in his development? It just goes to show that young players can grow by staying at their parent club without necessarily going out on loan.

“That's all true. Players have a development path they need to follow, especially youngsters. They do take leaps forward and I hope there will be more for him in the future because he's a young lad. I'm in agreement with the compliments he's been given. I'm as pleased as anyone with his performances.”

Have you understood why you're not able to get results against the big teams? Is it a mentality problem?

“No, I think more than mentally we need to improve technically. When the same thing keeps repeating over time it probably means there's still a gap there, although we've certainly reduced it. That gap was clear in our performances in the first half of the season against all the teams that are around or above us. Recently we played very well against Milan and on that occasion at least we didn't lose. We got a result in that game.

“We've definitely grown since the start of the season. Unfortunately we're having to contend with this injury emergency, although we're not alone in that – there are other teams too. It's annoying because we're absolutely convinced that we can compete when we have everyone available. Constantly having to make do without this or that player is holding us back a bit but morale is good. Now we have another chance against Napoli so that will tell us something more about where we stand.”

Would it be fair to say that a good portion of your Champions League hopes depend on this game against Napoli and the one against Juventus in a fortnight? Or would that be a stretch too far?

“They're certainly both important matches because they're against direct rivals so they count for more than other games, but at the end of the day it's still three points. The points total needed to qualify for the Champions League doesn't change much from season to season. So these matches aren't decisive – they're important, but not decisive. If you lose these two and win all the others, it doesn't change anything. But they are important, if only for what we were saying earlier – our ability to beat opponents of a certain level and therefore feel we're superior to our rivals.”

Have you read what President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella said about you in Cortina? Speaking to Sofia Goggia, he said: “Gasperini is very good because we went to Palermo.” That was an indirect compliment and I wanted to ask if you'd like to speak to him in person, given that you're closer now, in Rome.

“He's always been a big football fan. It's been a few years since I was a player and when I was playing he came to watch Palermo. In any case, I agree with him!”

How ready do you think Roma are to play Napoli now compared to the reverse fixture, when you obviously didn't have Donyell Malen? Have you seen a lot of progress? At the start of the season did you expect to be challenging Napoli, the reigning champions, come mid-February?

“We've always focused on ourselves. There have been different stages during the season, with lots of teams involved. Earlier in the year, there were teams who weren't going as strong as they are now. Inter have clearly picked up and improved a lot now. Other teams have improved, like Juventus and Milan. Napoli have had some very good spells and a few difficulties themselves partly due to injury problems.

“The fact is that after 24 games we're still in the mix. We're in this position alongside Juventus and Napoli, and with the others, with Milan, still in sight. Then of course there's Como and Atalanta, who are coming up strong, but this is Serie A. As far as I can remember, at least in my experience, you always achieve your objectives on the last weekend of the season, maybe the one before, but normally in the final match, battling point for point. We've never achieved objectives or results with lots of games to spare. So we must be ready to remain in the mix until the end and keep fighting until the end.”

Do you now think it was better not to have two extra games to play in March, which would have been the Europa League play-off for Roma? It means you'll only have one game a week to play until Genoa on 8 March.

“It's not connected because we had a period between October and November, until the middle of December, when we were playing lots of games and the squad was in great shape. We had very few injury problems and lots of weeks when the treatment room was empty. When it happens at times that it's maybe all in defence, or now all in attack, that's a bit more annoying. But you get that over the course of the season. It's not just for us and funnily enough I don't think it's connected to the games.

“As I said before, there were times when we were playing back-to-back matches and everyone was fine. It's hard to explain why at certain times we get three or four injuries all in one area of the pitch. All strange ones too, because with Dybala it's the knee, [Evan] Ferguson the ankle, [Stephan] El Shaarawy the tendon. The only one with a muscle strain is [Manu] Kone. [Mario] Hermoso bruised the top of his foot but should be back next week. It's a bit frustrating that we have these important games and you think you'll get three or four players back but then it takes a week or two longer. We've made it to Saturday now anyway.”

How is Bryan Zaragoza? Has he made any progress this week? Has he settled in better? And could he start the match?

“Of course, the more time passes, the better he seems to get. He's been here a fortnight now and he's improving his fitness and settling in to the way we play. He certainly plays a different way. I think he'll need a bit more time to adjust but he's doing it by playing and by training.”

Roma have taken 122 corners and only scored two goals, and are yet to score from a direct free kick. Is it just bad luck? Is it something you're working on?

“No, it's an area where we're coming up short, because I think we have one of the worst records in that respect. And those goals are worth just as much as any others. We definitely need to do better.”

Roma are just a few points away from Napoli at the moment. Do you think Antonio Conte's team has anything that yours doesn't?

“I think Conte has a great team. Until now they've been unfortunate with injuries because they've lost some fantastic, very important players. But Napoli have won the league title twice in the last three years. Then of course everyone is free to have their own opinion.”

What do you think about the fixture congestion problem, which is something Conte has had his say on?

“I don't want to stir up problems. I respect what other people have to say and their opinions. If you ask me, based on my experience, playing in Europe has always helped me. Of course there is a risk of injury because most injuries happen in matches and hardly ever in training. So it is a risk. But in many other ways I've always found it useful to play games, both in Italy and in Europe. It's helped my teams to grow and the players individually to experience different situations, different ways of playing. So I'd always rather be playing in Europe – especially in the Champions League!”

Are you considering going with an extra midfielder tomorrow? Like Lorenzo Pellegrini for example.

“Right now I don't even know who will be available, so I need to see that first. Then we'll see what we decide. Pellegrini has played a lot, right? So those are the options. We'll see. First we need to figure out what shape we're in. We'll train today and then we'll decide. But Dybala has become important too.”

With Zaragoza, have you increased the technical ability in attack, as you spoke about at the start of the year?

“Well, Malen has had a big, big impact on the team, on our results and on our performances. Besides his goal against Torino and the two against Cagliari, he had several chances against Milan and could have scored. Regardless of that, he's a player who brings a lot to the team and one we should try to support as best we can. That's why it's important to have other players in good shape who can support him. Zaragoza has a unique skill set. At the moment he's more the sort of player to make runs from deep, but I'm sure he can become a player with the kind of attributes we're lacking in attack, so he could become very useful.”