Mourinho: ‘Impossible for Roma not to win this’

Jose Mourinho assures it was ‘impossible’ for Roma not to beat Salernitana, despite initial difficulties. ‘We dominated this match.’

The Giallorossi were still goalless at half-time, but once the deadlock was broken, they ran riot 4-0 with a Lorenzo Pellegrini double, Jordan Veretout and Tammy Abraham.

“It was impossible not to win this,” Mou told DAZN.

Serie A Salernitana 0-4 Roma: Abraham and Pellegrini inspire

“I was perfectly calm from the first minute. The team played really well. I told them that I was worried when we were in the lead against Fiorentina and more relaxed once they equalised. Again tonight, we dominated the match.

“Some might argue we didn’t create many chances in the first half, but we didn’t allow any at the other end either. We were in total control and did what we wanted with the ball, tiring Salernitana out, moving them around and using the passing channels we practiced yesterday in training.”

Mourinho spent the entire match sitting on the side of the dugout, as the bench at the Stadio Arechi is sunken.

The coach has now won all four competitive matches for Roma, between Serie A and the Europa Conference League.

“I am happy to be back in Italy, with a club that has real fans, with people who feel the passion we know. I too needed to get back to feeling these sensations.

“I can say that the key word the Friedkins used was ‘time’ and you can feel calm when you know that you’ve got time to get work done. Having said that, I don’t want too much time or too much calm. That goes against my nature! I want to speed the process up a little.

“When I look at the bench, I feel we might need some more experience, and there are stronger squads than ours, but I am remarkably happy to be working with these lads and when we play against the bigger clubs, we will play to win.

“We might not manage it every time, but our mentality must not change depending on our opponent.”

Some of the big players might be leaving Serie A this summer, but the intriguing coaches like Maurizio Sarri, Max Allegri, Luciano Spalletti and Mourinho have returned.

“I am happy to see a new generation of coaches coming through. I’m waiting for Don Claudio (Ranieri), maybe Antonio (Conte) thinks differently. The players are more important than the coaches, though.”