Ranieri: ‘Roma want to show what we can do,’ Pellegrini ‘runs too much’ | OneFootball

Claudio Ranieri has backed his players to show their worth during Roma’s run of December fixtures, and has explained that Lorenzo Pellegrini is out of the starting line-up against Lecce because he ‘runs too much’.

Roma are hosting Lecce at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday evening. You can follow all the action on the Football Italia LIVEBLOG.

What Ranieri said about Roma ahead of Lecce in Serie A

Roma are currently 15th in the Serie A table after a run of four consecutive league losses, two of which have come during Ranieri’s tenure, most recently against title contenders Napoli and Atalanta.

Despite their poor form in Serie A, Ranieri believes that his players ‘want to show what we can do’ over the course of the next month.

He also revealed that he is in constant contact with owner Dan Friedkin.

“Yes, we’ve spoken, but what we said remains between the two of us,” Ranieri told DAZN ahead of kick-off.

Assessing the team ahead of Lecce, he continued: “The team is ready, we want to show what we can do in December. It won’t be easy, Lecce have earned four points in the last two games, so we have a very difficult game ahead of us, one that we will try to win.”

Asked about Lorenzo Pellegrini’s omission from the Roma line-up on Saturday night, Ranieri explained: “Physically, he is very well. He runs too much if anything.

“He needs to run less, be calm. As soon as he has calmed down, the place will be his again.”

Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini (L) and Inter’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan (R) in action during the Italian Serie A match AS Roma vs FC Inter at Olimpico stadium in Rome, Italy, 20 October 2024. EPA-EFE/ANGELO CARCONI

And on the mood in the Roma camp after their run of defeats, Ranieri added: “They’ve shown that they are available and they have understood that the fans will be behind them if they give it their all.

“We have to give everything and accept what happens on the pitch. We need positive results and we know what we have to do.”

There will be no Artem Dovbyk for the Giallorossi on Saturday night, but the coach hopes to have his starting striker back for the Braga game in the Europa League on Thursday.

“He has the flu, he didn’t feel up to it. I didn’t want to risk him, or lose him for both tonight and the next game. I hope he;ll be back for Braga.”