Jose Mourinho insists Roma’s clash with Trabzonspor is ‘more like a Champions League play-off’ than entry into the new UEFA Europa Conference League.
The first leg of the play-off is tomorrow in Turkey at 18.30 UK time, with the decider at the Stadio Olimpico next Thursday.
Their opening Serie A match of the season is against Fiorentina on Sunday evening.
“I don’t want to make any differentiation between competitions, the next match is always the priority,” Mourinho said on Sky Sport Italia.
“It’s not impossible to approach every game by itself. We are well aware of the difficulties that await us tomorrow, it feels less like a Conference League play-off and more like a Champions League one.
“The team has had a positive pre-season and it’s not easy to rebuild, especially because we weren’t thinking about the need for a left-back or second striker, until Leonardo Spinazzola’s injury and Edin Dzeko left (for Inter).
“This squad deserves to start strong and we’ll do everything possible to qualify for the group stages.”
It’s always a fiery atmosphere playing in Turkey and there will be 20,000 fans allowed into the Senol Gunes stadium, while Trabzonspor have the advantage of already playing three competitive games this season.
“That is all true, but I don’t want excuses,” replied Mou. “We are here, we’re missing a few players like Chris Smalling and Gonzalo Villar, but we’ve got a great attitude and I know what it’s like to play in Turkey. After a year-and-a-half without fans, it’s good to have them back, even for the opposition.”
Tammy Abraham will not be in the squad tomorrow, as he must continue to finalise the red tape for his move from Chelsea, but is registered for the second leg next week.
Smalling and Villar are injured, so Mourinho confirmed in his press conference that Roger Ibanez will play with Gianluca Mancini in defence.
There are several familiar faces in the Trabzonspor ranks.
“Gervinho and Marek Hamsik still seem like kids, maybe their passports are wrong! And everyone at the club knows Bruno Peres, a great professional who can play in various different roles,” added the coach.
“It’s better that it’s difficult, so nobody can say it’s easy.”