Jose Mourinho vented all his frustration at Roma’s limitations in a fiery press conference, complaining that boo boys ‘don’t understand’ how thinly the squad is stretched, noting Ola Solbakken ‘doesn’t understand tactics.’
He should’ve been pleased after the 2-0 victory over Empoli, decided in the opening six minutes by Roger Ibanez and Tammy Abraham headers on Paulo Dybala corners.
Instead, he seemed bitter, angry and eager to get some things off his chest, still stung by the midweek Coppa Italia quarter-final defeat to Cremonese.
That game reiterated what he had been saying from the start of the season, that the Giallorossi have no strength in depth beyond their first-choice XI.
“The league is a marathon and the teams who can afford to push on during injuries will finish the marathon in better shape. For us, every injury, every ban, every drop in form is a big problem.
“We could do great things, but when we have to play three games in a week, it becomes more difficult. Some fans don’t understand that, but that is normal,” said Mourinho.
“There are coaches who can automatically make two changes at the 60th minute, another two at the 75th. I can’t do that, I have to measure out every minute.
“Some do not realise the sacrifices that Lorenzo Pellegrini is making just to play in his current condition. If there are 20-30-50 jeering out of 60,000, then it doesn’t matter that much.”
The coach again lashed out at the club owners, as although he continues to say they can only do so much with the current Financial Fair Play parameters, he remains frustrated by the situation.
“We didn’t buy Mady Camara. He was brought in on loan to replace Gini Wijnaldum on deadline day. He is here to help out, not to cause problems. With his characteristics, he can help out when needed.”
There were reports Ola Solbakken would start today, but again Mourinho was far from reassuring over the January free transfer from Bodo/Glimt.
“Solbakken doesn’t understand tactics in the same way as the other lads, he doesn’t know the difference between 5-3-2 and 3-4-1-2, he doesn’t understand a high press.
“He must learn how to play with us. The lad has quality, but he cannot just replace someone and have the team use the same structure.”
Mourinho again hit out at the boo boys in the Stadio Olimpico, even though most were cheering on wholeheartedly.
“We have 40 points, which in my view is an extraordinary tally. Some might say no, that we should’ve been up there with Napoli, but for me this is an extraordinary result.”