Jose Mourinho refuses to name the Roma players he was criticising, but insists what ‘worries’ him about the Sassuolo game are Domenico Berardi and the referee.
It kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 GMT at the Mapei Stadium.
While they seem to have got their season back on track in Serie A to climb into fifth place, but on Thursday were held to a 1-1 draw in Geneva by Servette.
That result means they are almost certain to be heading into the Europa League play-offs in February, against one of the teams dropping down from the Champions League.
Mourinho was furious at many of his players after that match, complaining they had a poor mentality and were not doing enough to earn an opportunity.
“In sport you are only an individual when you are along, not when you share responsibility. This is why I like sports such as tennis, as it takes courage and character to be there until the end and when you lose, you cannot look around to blame anyone else,” said Mourinho in today’s press conference.
“As the coach of a collective sport like football, I look around and analyse individual sports for that kind of mentality. You are wasting your time though if you want to ask me which players I was referring to. I spoke about it in the locker room, between us.
“The more positive the rapport, the easier it is to say ugly truths to each other. I said what I thought and continue to think. I have a very good rapport with the team and this helps us go into a game with Sassuolo that I am not afraid of, but certainly leaves me ill at ease.”
The Special One complained after the Servette draw that some of his players had a ‘superficial’ attitude and did the bare minimum in this competition, seeing the Europa League as somehow beneath them.
“I will not turn a blind eye, I told my players today that if we want more, then we have to get out of our comfort zone. I want more adrenaline, as if we needed points to secure safety. Many coaches get their teams to play well with no responsibility, but I told the lads to step it up and not be so superficial.
“At Real Madrid I won with 100 points in a season and lost with 93 points. If you drew one day, it was a huge problem, so we always had to win and that was not easy. We do not have the potential to fight with Juventus and Inter for the Scudetto, our potential is fourth or fifth.”
The lengthy and on-going absence of Chris Smalling has left Roma short-staffed in defence, while Renato Sanches is still nowhere near fully fit.
“I don’t wish to be interpreted negatively, because I know the situation, and I feel we are underestimated as a coach, technical staff, the team for what we are doing, fighting it out with sides who have a very different potential. Without injuries, my squad can fight it out, but without Smalling for months… When Evan Ndicka arrived, Tiago Pinto told me he was perfect to be on the bench and grow with me, but he had to immediately be a starter. I had to drop Bryan Cristante into defence to fill the gaps.”
Mourinho was asked what he is most concerned about at the Mapei Stadium, and after insisting his players should not blame others for their shortcomings, he immediately pointed towards the referee.
“Sassuolo are a good team, they have a good coach and only have to play one game per week. To be honest, I will say that I am worried about the referee. We had this official three times and I don’t think he has the emotional stability to work at this level. It is not just Sassuolo-Roma, we are three points off the Champions League places and it is a very important match for us. I am not relaxed about the referee or the VAR, who we were also often unlucky with.
“I am worried about Berardi, who is a fantastic player, I love him, but he needs to show more respect for his opponents. He mocks other players and gets them booked, so I love and hate him. I don’t like that kind of behaviour on the field and I would really dislike seeing that from one of my players.
“I am sure tomorrow with Marcenaro as the referee, Gianluca Mancini will get a yellow card after 10 minutes against Berardi and be suspended against Fiorentina.”
Roma are hamstrung by Financial Fair Play issues and cannot even register Sardar Azmoun for the Europa League.
“The situation is complicated. If we are able to do something in January, that will be very positive for us, but if it’s not possible, then it’s not possible and we have to make do with what we have.
“I will say one thing a coach who is a friend of mine said: The unlucky team is the one that goes from the Champions League to play against us in the Europa League play-offs.”
Roma Circus!