Collecchio, 15 February 2025 - The comments made by coach Fabio Pecchia during the press conference to present matchday 25 of the championship against Roma, given in the press room of the Mutti Training Center in Collecchio.

MORE PRIDE, MORE ATTENTION AND MORE DESIRE TO SCORE GOALS

‘The objective is always to bring home the three points, it's obvious that the moment we are going through has been problematic for some time. We are lacking points, we are lacking full results, and evidently what we are doing is not enough to win matches. The week has been good and positive. The enthusiasm is different, but this week, in terms of the players' attention, attitude and desire, there has been some improvement, even recently. Even after the game in Cagliari, I said that I liked the attitude of the team, but this is not enough because to win games so now we have to do something more: show even more pride, more attention, more quality, more desire to score goals. We need to put together a bit of everything because what has been done so far has clearly not brought us any good in terms of results. We have to do something more, we all have to do much more, all together with great desire and great confidence. We have to do something more. We're always under pressure because we coaches depend on results, but the fact that the Club is so close, on a daily basis, allows us to work and give our best, to be motivated, because such an environment stimulates you to do better and the way the whole technical sector of the Club unites every day is important’. 

TWO CENTRE-BACKS RECOVERED

‘For the match against Roma we were given back the two centre backs in Balogh, who was already ready, but now has a few more weeks, and Valenti. Hernani Jr will certainly not be there. Those who are here have great spirit and a great desire to do what we need to do to achieve our goal. Nahuel had a particular moment, after the injury he wasn't ready yet and then there was a new problem and that complicated his path. But I can say that in the last 15 days, I have seen Nahuel ready, able to make the right contribution, and we now also have Adrián Bernabé, which is a very positive thing for us. But Nahuel could have been in the match last week too; in fact, in Cagliari, he was ready to come on. And this week too I saw him being very positive. This is an interesting fact (with Estévez on the pitch Parma got 10 points, and without him 10 points, but the average changes because he only played seven games, Ed.), but I repeat, Nahuel wasn't there for a long period. When he was available he was always considered, and for us he was a significant loss. His recovery was slower than expected, but now he's ready to be out there on the pitch. We don't have Hernani Jr, but with Simon, Adrián and Keita himself, who had a very positive performance, there are alternatives that we can use immediately or during the course of the season’.

PRESIDENT KRAUSE'S ENTHUSIASM

‘I haven't spoken to President Krause, but I feel his daily closeness. He will be present against Roma. His physical presence transmits energy, transmits enthusiasm and we need this kind of energy from everyone’. 

WE MUST MOTIVATE OUR FANS

‘From the first year here, through the ups and downs, the constant toing and froing, I have always asked the fans to stay with us, but it all depends on what we are able to do on the pitch. Because when we have shown something on the pitch, we have had a great following and so, in this case, it is up to us to get our fans behind us because we have shown that we are capable of doing it’. 

CONFIDENCE IN DENNIS

‘We all have faith in Dennis Man and we expect more from Dennis because he's a quality player for us, he's also shown technical leadership on the pitch. Like everyone else, he's had good moments and moments of decline, and it's something completely physiological. But I have great faith and expect a lot from him as well as from his teammates and the whole environment. I believe that even against Roma, he wants to play and put himself at the disposal of the team’. 

BALANCE AND SCORING GOALS

‘What we have to do at the moment, as a coach, since I have the responsibility for the moment and for everything that happens, together with the guys, is to find continuous solutions and adaptations because... Djurić had come in and he could give us different characteristics and we lost him. Now Valentin is gone and we have to find solutions that will give the team balance, but also the ability to attack and score goals’.

ROMA ARE A EUROPEAN-LEVEL TEAM

‘There's not much room for surprises against Roma, we're up against a European-level team that won in Oporto... Roma are a technically strong team with a good mentality. The first leg, where too little was done, was perhaps one of the games where the team did too little. On Sunday, apart from the tactical and technical aspects, which are important, we need to give a bit more. They are a team that is also good to watch because they manage to play with intensity and quality. Who would I take away from the Giallorossi? Angeliño because he's a tireless footballer who manages to play both phases with energy and clarity. It would be too easy to say Dybala, Hummels and Paredes’. 

WE CONCEDED GOALS IN OUR BEST MOMENTS

‘We have several players who need managing, including the new arrivals, who require a somewhat special, individual approach. But in the last two games, two different matches, we conceded goals at perhaps our best moments. We conceded more than we should have and in this the team must be stronger than everything and everyone, because even in Cagliari, we conceded a goal at the best moment and went behind. Perhaps we conceded more from a psychological point of view than a physical one. Pellegrino? Mateo is very enthusiastic, he's in good physical shape and he's performing well, but of course it takes time to settle in. He's a big, strong player, who's very determined and has a great presence in the penalty area. We all hope he'll settle in and adapt quickly’.