Roma director Tiago Pinto comments on January reinforcements and admits facing local rivals Lazio in the Coppa Italia quarter-final is ‘exciting and stressful.’
It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at 17.00 GMT.
The winner must be decided tonight, after 90 minutes, extra time or even penalties, and will go on to face Juventus or Frosinone in the two-legged semi-finals.
“Obviously, it is like a Final and when you play a knockout fixture and a derby on top of that, it is exciting and stressful,” Tiago Pinto told Mediaset.
“We want to keep going and give that joy to our fans.”
The director of sport already announced he will be leaving the club the moment the January transfer window has closed, ending his contract six months early.
“It will be my last derby, as I do not see myself on the other side of the derby! I hope we can win, but that means nothing to the players, they are concentrated on the match and my future is not important.
“What worries me is a match with an elevated level of tension and the general game itself. We must be concentrated and do our best.”
Roma brought in Dean Huijsen on loan from Juventus to plug the gaps during their injury crisis, but can the fans expect any more reinforcements mid-season?
“I have been clear on the transfer market. We reacted quickly to our need for a centre-back, now with the financial play parameters we have to wait for someone to leave before we can do anything else.”
Meanwhile, Huijsen made his debut off the bench in the 1-1 Serie A draw with Atalanta and is in the starting XI this evening for the Coppa Italia clash.
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