Roma coach Claudio Ranieri insists Lorenzo Pellegrini, Bryan Cristante and Gianluca Mancini tried all they could to avoid Daniele De Rossi’s sacking and didn’t push him out of the club: ‘Fans must know the truth.”
Roma are preparing for Monday’s Serie A fixture against Atalanta at the Stadio Olimpico.
Captain Lorenzo Pellegrini has been under pressure since De Rossi was sacked in September as a part of the Roma fanbase thinks the Italian midfielder had a role in the ex-midfielder’s dismissal.
“I’ve had two extraordinary goal-scoring midfielders in my career: Lampard and Pellegrini. Many criticise him, but how many midfielders score as many goals as him? I’m here to help Roma and I’ve explained my plan to him,” Ranieri said at a press conference on Saturday.
Ranieri opens up about Roma sacking De Rossi: ‘Fans must know the truth’
“He’s begun a development process that he needs. He is a quiet and extroverted lad who suffers more than others in this situation. He didn’t push De Rossi out; the fans must know it. Neither Mancininord Cristante did it. On the contrary, they tried like crazy to make him stay. Fans must know the truth.”
Artem Dovbyk is Roma’s best scorer this season but has only netted once in the latest eight outings. Is it an individual or collective problem?
“Both,” Ranieri replied.
“He had a few issues in his knee in Ukraine, but now he no longer feels discomfort. We know how to feed this lad but are not helping him. I’ve talked to the team and shown some videos to explain how to assist him. He’s our hitman, and we must give him the service he needs. Otherwise, it’s useless.”
