Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini has admitted that he was sad and frustrated on the day of Daniele De Rossi’s dismissal, but says that he and his colleague’s faith is in Ivan Juric, who is helping to ‘steer’ the Giallorossi back around.
The Giallorossi skipper was speaking alongside Ivan Juric at the pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday evening’s Europa League match away at IF Elfsborg.
Pellegrini said that he is looking forward to tomorrow’s game, before going into more detail about the circumstances surrounding De Rossi’s sacking and the subsequent appointment of Juric on the same day.
“Tomorrow is an important game because it’s part of a journey that we are on, working with the coach and staff to bring back the enthusiasm after the first matches, which did not go how we wanted. Tomorrow is an important game,” he said.
“We need to work hard, but with a smile on our faces as we have been doing over the last few days.”
Responding to the recent criticism of him and teammate Bryan Cristante, Pellegrini added: “As far as Bryan and I are concerned, judgements are made on the pitch, and that’s where you have to improve after a tough moment.”
Pellegrini opens up on De Rossi departure
“I don’t think it’s a lack of respect to Mister Juric that we were sad on the day of De Rossi’s farewell. When he arrived, he understood that it was a tough moment for us. He transformed our sadness into a desire to get things done.
“As far as that day, I’m sure you can imagine. I’m not someone who likes to mess around, I like to tell the truth, so that day, I said what I thought.
“I have a lot of respect for Daniele and his staff because they are a great group in my opinion. Now we’ll move forwards, because Roma always moves forwards. We are lucky to have a man who was able to understand our sadness and get us back on the right track.”
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