Here’s what he had to say…
You started with a number of younger players – what did you think of the performance?
Roberto: “We have to play seriously, first of all, because when we play for this club or when we work for this club we have to work in the best way we can. The young players played very, very well, especially in the first half, with a clear idea, with the right spirit, with the right qualities as well. In the second half, we played 30 minutes with the older players, the players of the first team, Mateus Fernandes, Conor Gallagher, Ben Davies, Richarlison, Mathys Tel. We didn't concede, we didn't suffer any injuries and this is big news, important news, especially for the beginning of the season. So, now we go to Australia and we follow our pre-season.”
We haven’t seen too much of James Maddison – does he have a problem?
Roberto: “He's not working the last five days, I think, like Udogie, but they are not a big problem, just to stay focused, not to take any risks and then for the next game, the next friendly game against Sydney, maybe we play with Tonali, with other players.”
Fans are very excited about Luca Williams-Barnett – what does he have to do to get to the level he needs to?
Roberto: “Luca is a big talent, very young, big talent. Malachi is another good player for the future of the club. We can't forget the young players, especially for the new rules, the financial play or the rules of the Champions League, Europa League, and then we have to improve our academy, we have to help them to produce more players because we need it and it's important for the club.”
How important is it for young players to take the example of someone like Archie Gray?
Roberto: “Yes, Archie is young, but he's an old player as a mentality, as a performance, as an experience, as a career, but the new players have to push because with me as a coach they have the chance to play, logically they have to show me they are ready, they have qualities, they have a mentality to play in this club. When I decide the players, when I decide the squad, I never see the age of the players, I just analyse the qualities and the potential of these players.”
Are you thinking about Archie Gray as a midfielder or right-back going into the new season with Pedro Porro and Djed Spence coming back late after the World Cup?
Roberto: “It's lucky for me when you have players who are able to play in different positions. It's important for him to fix one position, one favourite position, but at the end he has to be open to cover different positions on the pitch. He can play as a right back, as a left back, as a midfielder, nothing changes. He's a smart player, I think he's improving his knowledge on the pitch because changing position, you change body shape, you change direction when you receive the ball and when you give the ball. He's an important player for me, even if he can play in different positions.”
Where do you see Mikey Moore’s future heading into next season?
Roberto: “We have to see, we have to analyse the last part of the transfer market I think because we try to bring wingers and then we speak with him, with his agent, with the club to find the best solution for everyone.”
What did you think of Auckland FC today?
Roberto: “They have a clear idea with the ball. I know football is not the most important sport in New Zealand. I spoke before the game with the coach and he told me that many players for the World Cup, they weren't here today. It's a great experience for us. Unfortunately, we can't stay more days to visit this country, because the atmosphere in this country, the culture, is great for us. We come from another country, another world and it would be a great experience for us to stay longer.”
What did you think of the occasion, especially that there was a record crowd for a men's football match here?
Roberto: “We are happy because when we go to this country to play friendly games, it's an important part of our job because we are a great club, a big club and we are very happy when the people in the other countries are so close to us. Tottenham is not just for the UK, it's for all parts of the world and for that we wanted to play well, seriously, to make our fans happy in other countries.”
How are you feeling about the next two or three weeks?
Roberto: “First of all, we don't want to take any risk of injuries, of potential injuries. We have to improve the physical condition, because we need running to play football and we have to be stronger. We have to work on the knowledge of the style of play we put inside the new players because we have very important new players. We have to finish the window of this transfer market because it's not finished yet. I think we can be happier at the end of this transfer market because I spoke a lot of time with the owner, with the board and they want to build a very strong team for this season for sure, to make the days for the future to become great again.”
You're only here for a short time - did you do anything in particular?
Roberto: “No, just work and sleep, try to sleep. I'm suffering a lot of jet lag and no restaurant, nothing, just to prepare the guys to play in the best way we can and try to sleep something more than three or four hours.”