Claudio Ranieri discusses Roma debut in 1-0 loss to Napoli: “There is a lot of work to do.” | OneFootball

Claudio Ranieri analyzed Roma’s performance in his debut on the bench in tonight’s 1-0 loss to Napoli.

The veteran technician spoke to Sky Sport at full-time.

“We have problems, that’s why I was called here,” said Ranieri.

“We were playing against a team that had lost first place in the standings so we played against a team that is fighting to win the league. With this in mind, I am happy with my team’s performance.”

“We made a few mistakes, we will talk about it during the week with the boys. However, the desire and determination to get back on track was there. We must continue like this, there is a lot of work to do.”

“I changed the game-plan at halftime because I wanted to keep the ball more, so much so that in the second half we kept the ball more than they did.”

“We limited their chances. We saw that sometimes Lukaku was alone between the two defenders and sometimes with two of our players and Kvara was alone. Luckily El Shaarawy went to close. I tried to square up behind, I said ‘let’s try to move the ball around and let’s play a bit deeper.”

“Dybala? He has many tricks up his sleeve even if he’s given 10 minutes. I was afraid of risking him but he hasn’t felt any pain since yesterday. I think he is fine, we’ll see during the week and in London with Tottenham.”

“Pellegrini and Cristante? They definitely have to have the right personality, which has to come out of their character. They must play like leaders. They have to help themselves first and then the others.”

“When I came in I saw a team that looked insecure, a bit down. I want them to be more secure and confident on the pitch. And in fact it seems to me that in the second half we moved the ball around more than in the first, despite not having great chances.”

“We had that header from Dovbyk and the turn from Baldanzi. I know I have to work hard, they do too. We mustn’t cry over spilt milk, but we have to react.”