Jose Mourinho doesn’t want his Roma side to make excuses following their unconvincing win over Lecce earlier this week.

The Giallorossi fell 1-0 down to the Serie B side in their Coppa Italia match on Thursday and they went into the half time break all tied up thanks to a Marash Kumbulla equaliser. Tammy Abraham and Eldor Shomurodov both scored in the second half to secure the victory for the Roman side.

Speaking to gathered reporters in a press conference today, Mourinho first discussed the unconvincing win against Lecce and how the team cannot hide behind excuses.

“A thought and a hug to coach Di Marzio’s family, we’re with them. You remember very well the moments when we didn’t do well. For me it’s easier to talk about the good moments, the 70 minutes against Juventus and the way we played the second half against Lecce.

“Against Juventus is already far away, two weeks is a long time. We’ve talked enough. What’s important for us is that we don’t hide in excuses. We’ve spoken enough.

“Against Lecce I said after the game that I was responsible for the first half. I tried to explain that when you think about the next game you don’t usually help the team and I did that.”

He touched on the physical condition of Chris Smalling and the growth of Kumbulla.

“He’s fine. Maybe not great. He trained for two days with us. He trained here without the team on Thursday. When he was at home he was limited. He’s available to play and if he has to play, he will play.

“We have all the central defenders available and they are playing well. Even Kumbulla who a few months ago was not a player who had total confidence, has gained it with humility, with work, with total openness to constructive criticism and I am happy.”

The Portuguese coach discussed Tammy Abraham and how far he can go in his career.

“Where can we go with him and he with us. He’s not doing badly for a first season of change in footballing culture. The numbers are there and they are numbers without penalties. They are numbers with lots of woodwork hits that could have been turned into more goals.

“I expect more, room to improve and not only in terms of numbers, but also in terms of quality and in the area of the game where he was not so good. If he plays every game and works as he is doing, at the age of 24-25, I expect more.”

Mourinho provided an update on the transfer market and clarified his expectations for this month.

“Maybe I was wrong when I said it was closed or not closed. The market is open until January 31. If the question is whether I expect something more, the answer is that I don’t expect anything.

“It’s a bit strange because it seems that every time a team benches a player, he plays less, it seems that the immediate solution is to sell the player. If that’s the case it’s complicated. Veretout has been on the bench one game and is already for sale. Carles Perez plays and leaves, he leaves because he is for sale.

“The players who left were part of a strategy to structure our team. I think this squad will stay until the end of the season. The two new players in these games have played more minutes than the other four combined.

“This has improved our squad and that’s why I always said I was happy. We did it on the 10th of January instead of the 31st. The other players we’re talking about have minutes. Perez has played 8-9 games as a starter. We need the squad, not people going out.”

He looked back at Lecce’s goal in the Coppa Italia clash and if it came from an Ainsley Maitland-Niles mistake.

“To understand, we have to give credit to Lecce who weren’t afraid in midfield. They surprised us because we left two players up front. They went well, with great courage.

“Sometimes you go in the direction of those who made mistakes and forget about those who did very well. Maitland had to be on the edge of the area to see that area there, then he had to go in because there was nobody out there. But they did well.”

Mourinho looked ahead to Roma’s match against Empoli tomorrow and touched on why kind of game the team should play.

“El Shaarawy’s in the squad. Pellegrini and Spinazzola are the only ones who will be out. Empoli are having a fantastic season for a team that have come from Serie B. Not only for the points, the results, the peace of mind of remaining in Serie A.

“Also for the quality of the game, the quality of the play and the quality of the players. Also for the quality of play, the fantastic work they’re doing there. I’m sure it won’t be easy. We have to play very well. They’ve averaged more than two goals a game in recent games.

“They score, they can play. They score goals every game. In the last 10 games in only one game have they not scored. They always improve and now they play with the ambition to win, to finish as high as possible in the standings. These teams that play between European positions and the relegation zone are teams that play relaxed, without pressure and it is much easier to play that way.”

Finally, Mourinho highlighted how he does not think that tomorrow’s match will be similar to the Lecce game.

“I don’t think it’s a similar game. Lecce are a good Serie B team, Empoli are a Serie A team. From the point of view of playing principles maybe there are common principles, but they play differently.

“They have a lot of variability in their movements and they always play with a four-man line. Always with great stability. We go there with the intention of making a cycle of victories, a cycle of positive games.”

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