Luciano Spalletti said the media criticism has motivated Edin Dzeko to prove himself when Roma visit Udinese.
The trip to Udinese kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
This is the first match since the 2-0 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid and Dzeko’s big misses. Can the 4-2-3-1 system be used again or was it an emergency situation at the Bernabeu?
Luciano Spalletti said the media criticism has motivated Edin Dzeko to prove himself when Roma visit Udinese.
The trip to Udinese kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
This is the first match since the 2-0 Champions League defeat to Real Madrid and Dzeko’s big misses. Can the 4-2-3-1 system be used again or was it an emergency situation at the Bernabeu?
“It can be used again, certainly. Will it be the norm? Probably not, but it can be a system used in parallel with others,” he said in a Press conference.
“My view of the Dzeko situation is that I expect him to plead for another chance to start tomorrow. He has to be motivated, because you all motivated him with everything you’ve written.
“I don’t need to say anything else to him. The greatest gift I can give is the starting shirt, because I am sure this man will show his true quality and react strongly to what happened.”
Roma are seeking a seventh consecutive Serie A victory, whereas Udinese are struggling.
“There will be many difficulties because I know Udinese well. It is a pretty calm and happy atmosphere around the club usually, which helps players to grow and show its quality without excessive stress. For others, it lowers the concentration level and some players really need that tension to deliver.
“They have quality and pace, we’ll then have to see if they can use that quality to overcome this hurdle. We must play our football, try to win this game and get back on track after what happened recently.
“Antonio Rudiger and Norbert Gyomber are still out, the former will be at our disposal in the middle of next week.
“Today we’ll evaluate the condition of Miralem Pjanic, which becomes important, as he trained for the last two days and was forced out. His pain has revived.
“Radja Nainggolan and Daniele De Rossi worked with the medical staff and there should be no problems for them. Kostas Manolas had a muscular issue, but trained pretty well yesterday and we’ll evaluate him today.”
Kevin Strootman made his comeback after knee surgery, but when will he be able to start?
“He has been training and improving consistently, so he is in a condition to play. I can’t say if it’s tomorrow or next week, but we’re getting there.”
Spalletti was asked about his post-Madrid comments, saying nobody should feel comfortable of their position.
“I said ‘we are all Sabatini’ because we all need results to look towards the future. That’s true of the Coach, the directors, the players, the club itself. We must all be concentrated to achieve our objective and realise a lot can change over the next few games.
“I can’t rest on my laurels or feel that I can be comfortable. None of us can feel comfortable. We are all under the spotlight and have to keep pushing so we can achieve our objective.”