Here's what he had to say...
Who is out for tomorrow and how is James Maddison?
Roberto: “James is available. Tosin is still out, Bergvall, Mudryk, the others are available.”
Mathys Tel – against Everton, you were talking on the pitch with him, on Saturday, an excellent goal at Chelsea – how proud are you of him and his response?
Roberto: “I'm proud and happy, but first of all for him, because I love working for the players, to improve the players. I was a player. Maybe I lost in my career many chances to become a better player, and one part of my job is to be focused on the improvement of the players, because many times you listen to the coaches picking the group, the teams, but the teams are more players together. If we are so good to improve the players as an individual, we can improve as a team. Mathys is working very hard. He's a smart guy. He has a big, big potential. His improvement, I think, is making the decision, the last decision. Maybe he has to be more calm, more focused on the ball, take the decision and follow the first decision, not change the decision during the situation. I'm here to help my players, for sure.”
How long, in your opinion, does it take for a very big club to get better?
Roberto: “I don't know, but, for sure, we can't ask for time. We can't ask anything. We have to play. We have already the qualities enough to win the games, to become better and better. For example, tomorrow is a big test for us, because we won two games in a row, because we are in a good moment and we have to show, first of all, before then, the quality of the players, the qualities of the play, the style of play - all these things are nothing if you don't show the mentality, the attitude, the right spirit, to be hungry also tomorrow, maybe more tomorrow than against Coventry.”
Did you speak to Pedro Porro after he gave you a kiss during your interview with the club post-Chelsea?
Roberto: “No, because Pedro is one of the biggest players. He's a great guy, a sensitive guy, a passionate guy. We are very lucky to have Pedro with us.”
Back to Mathys Tel – he’s had some tough moments – could that goal at Chelsea be a turning point for him?
Roberto: “Yes, tough moments, because he went in the stand one time, two times, or stays on the bench, but it's part of his journey. Every one of us, we have to solve the problems, to solve the difficult moments. The most important thing is to be together. Mathys has never been alone, because always with his team-mates and the staff, myself, we have been always together, always close with him. I think he can improve the goal of Chelsea, he can improve the confidence, but the most important thing is to fight and to play for the team, for the group, because if you fight for the team, if you play for the team, when you are in the difficult situation, you can find the team. Otherwise, you stay alone.”
The two wins have come after the training camp in Marbella. I spoke to Archie Gray this week and he said the players have returned feeling more like brothers. How successful do you feel that training camp was, from your point of view?
Roberto: “I think when you are a coach, you have to solve the problems and you have to take the decisions, you have to take the responsibilities. In that moment, I thought the best way to solve our problems is to be together, to stay close, to spend time together, not on the pitch, because on the pitch it is important when there is already a big group, a big relationship, a big union between the players. The focus went to the group, to find the best way to stay together and to improve the relationships.”
What do you make of Crystal Palace?
Roberto: “I know very well Pierre Sage. He is a very good coach. I know from a long time when he worked in Lyon and last season in Lens, very good coach. I think it is not easy to play in three competitions, because they are playing in the Premier League, in the European League and in Carabao Cup. I watched the game in Fulham, I watched the game against Besiktas or with Newcastle. I think they lost against Newcastle, but they are alive. Tomorrow will be a tough game for us but also for them.”
Was it important that James Maddison came off (at Chelsea) and didn’t make anything worse? Has he been able to train this week?
Roberto: “This week Maddison didn't work like other players, but for tomorrow he is available. He is a special player for us, a special player because he has unique characteristics, different than everyone. Maybe just Xavi Simons is very close with him, but he is injured, or Deki Kulusevski can play as a 10, similar to James Maddison. James is special for the characteristics, for the experience, for the personality, but we can play with Marmoush as a 10 or with Conor Gallagher as a 10. We played already with Mateus Fernandes, even he is better as a playmaker. It is not important I think the characteristics of the players - the most important is to put the players in the right position for them. So, if you play with one player or another player, you have to build a team right for respecting the characteristics of the players for sure.”
Is Maddison starting to show that he doesn't need to train five days a week right now whilst his fitness is like this? He can still produce for Tottenham?
Roberto: “I believe in working. I come from a city, Brescia. In Brescia we are used to working hard and we believe working hard, you receive back the good. I think for James Maddison or anyway for the players who are coming from injury, long injury, you have to work more than the other players, but he is already four or five weeks working very hard and consistently. So, I think it is not a problem if you lose two days. Then, we have to analyse if we take risks or not, because if we have to take risks like Pedro Porro or Kulusevski, maybe we are lucky to have a big squad and it is important not to take a risk for the new injuries.”
How is Destiny Udogie?
Roberto: “Yes, he’s available. He is another problematic player in terms of injuries now, because he can't work consistently during the weeks. After Manchester United he didn't work with us, with the group, for a long time. We are taking the right decision for each player in the right moment, in the right situation, maybe we made some mistakes with Pedro, with Aston Villa, but not medical staff, together, me too, all my staff as well. But, it is part of the job.”
Is Savio back?
Roberto: “No, Savio is injured.”
Have you felt a change in atmosphere after such an historic win at Stamford Bridge?
Roberto: “We have not achieved our goal. We want to be our fans happy, not now, at the end of the season. Now we have to push, we have to stay focused, we have to increase the spirit, the appetite to win games in a row. To do that, we have to show if we are good enough. If we are good enough on the pitch, for sure we are ready. In the head, in the mentality, we have to show, because the step of this club is to win games in a row and to be angry day by day, game by game, win by win. One time or two times are not enough.”
Do you think the team is in a position right now where they can build that momentum?
Roberto: “I believe in my players before, as a people, because we have many leaders in our group - Robertson, van de Ven, Pedro Poro, JP van Hecke, Sandro Tonali, Rodrigo Betancur, Tosin, Ben Davies, Maddison. They push to keep the level of mentality, the spirit, the appetite high, especially because now football is going in this direction.”
Four of the last five goals have come from outside the box – has it been a direction to encourage the players to shoot more?
Roberto: “They are working a lot in that situation, but they have this quality in themselves, because Omar Marmoush, Maddison, Sandro Tonali, he didn't score but many times he went very close to score, like Mateus Fernandes or Rodrigo Betancur. I think now we are improving in a lot of things. I think we are ready to score many goals, even in different situations than the goals we scored.”