Roma Coach Rudi Garcia defends his record in Europe but admits “we could have done better”.
The Giallorossi were knocked out in the group stage of last season’s Champions League, before exiting the Europa League against Fiorentina.
Following a defeat to BATE Borisov, the pressure is on against Bayer Leverkusen tomorrow, but the Coach insists his record isn’t as bad as some have suggested, despite just three wins with Roma and Lille.
“I always play to win,” Garcia told journalists in his pre-match Press conference.
Roma Coach Rudi Garcia defends his record in Europe but admits “we could have done better”.
The Giallorossi were knocked out in the group stage of last season’s Champions League, before exiting the Europa League against Fiorentina.
Following a defeat to BATE Borisov, the pressure is on against Bayer Leverkusen tomorrow, but the Coach insists his record isn’t as bad as some have suggested, despite just three wins with Roma and Lille.
“I always play to win,” Garcia told journalists in his pre-match Press conference.
“I’m not going to speak about Lille, that’s a different story. With Roma I’ve had eight games. In those eight games we’ve played Bayern Munich twice, Manchester City twice and Barcelona.
“We could have done better, but we’ll play to win the game [tomorrow]. We don’t look back, as the results can’t be changed.
“There are four games to go, we know that’s not many and we have to pick up points. It would be good to do it tomorrow, otherwise our fate won’t be in our own hands.
“By winning tomorrow, we’d take a big step forward. It’s not a decisive game, but it’s important.
“We’re gaining experience, but that doesn’t mean we have no ambition. Our ambition is to progress beyond the group stage.
“We’re learning though, a few players have joined this team who know the Champions League, but others need to gain experience in this competition.
“The thing we have to know – that we know after Borisov – is that it’s a mini-tournament. Every time you win you get closer to qualification, otherwise you go out.
“We have to put everything out there on the pitch which we’ve done in the League, which allowed us to finish second.
“That’s not enough though, you have to stop the opponent from displaying their qualities. Bayer Leverkusen have quality, so we’ll see tomorrow if we’re improving.”
The Giallorossi deployed a 4-3-3 shape in the defeat to BATE, would a 4-4-2 system offer more balance?
“Yes and no. No, because we beat Empoli with the formation we used in Borisov. Yes because in the second half in Borisov we did well with a 4-4-2.
“It depends on a lot of things, for example the opponent. The important thing tomorrow is our attitude, then we have to have confidence in ourselves.
“We can do great things, and tomorrow will be an interesting match. We’ll have to play a great game to take home some points.”