Roma director Francesco Totti would not confirm or deny negotiations with Antonio Conte. “He is a winner and every club would go wild to get him.”
The game with Cagliari kicks off at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), follow the action as it happens on the LIVEBLOG.
“The Coach chose the best line-up, as he saw the players train all week and chose based on that,” Totti told Sky Sport Italia.
Roma director Francesco Totti would not confirm or deny negotiations with Antonio Conte. “He is a winner and every club would go wild to get him.”
The game with Cagliari kicks off at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), follow the action as it happens on the LIVEBLOG.
“The Coach chose the best line-up, as he saw the players train all week and chose based on that,” Totti told Sky Sport Italia.
“Javier Pastore has the chance to prove his class, his desire to play with this jersey. He had a lot of fitness issues, but is now ready to play.
“It’s not a demotion for Patrik Schick, it’s just that you can’t start with 12 players on the pitch. Someone has to sit it out every time.”
Totti was asked if he felt confident that negotiations with Conte would pay off this summer, but was very evasive in his answer.
“Let’s say the last few weeks have seen a lot of talk about Antonio Conte, but we have Ranieri on the bench and must respect him right to the end. He is our current Coach, then at the end of the season we’ll evaluate if it’ll be him, Conte or someone else.
“We have a very important objective, which is to reach the Champions League. It doesn’t seem fair to discuss any other Coaches right now.
“The choice of management does not depend on Champions League qualification. I can assure you of that.”
Would Totti and Roma be eager to approach Conte for a place on their bench?
“Conte is one of the most successful Coaches in Europe, a winner who succeeded everywhere he went, so it seems natural that every club would go wild to get him. There has been talk of Inter, of Bayern Munich, of Roma, so there are many clubs interested.
“Obviously, if you were to get a Coach like that, you’d have to ensure the project was suited to a tactician with his standards. Roma have one of the top four squads in Italy, but when the club sits down with the Coach for pre-season, there will be discussions on who to keep, who can leave and who comes in.”