Kosta Runjaic held a press conference on Friday to discuss Udinese's home game against Lazio on Saturday evening.
This is what the coach had to say:
Reaction after Fiorentina
“It was a poor performance in Florence. The red card ruined the game but we can't lose the way we did, even with ten men. Now we need to move on and I'm optimistic about tomorrow. We all expect to see a reaction. A team cannot change so much between the Napoli game and the one against Fiorentina. Ups and downs are part of the process but they can't be like this. We must learn from these matches and look forward. We're the same team as the one that beat Napoli and the one we want to be tomorrow. What matters is the attitude. We must do better than in Florence, with the help of our fans – which they always give us. The beauty of football is that a few days later you get the chance to make up for it. We've prepared well and we've analysed our opponents well. We saw how Napoli responded after losing to us – that's the difference between the top teams and the others. This season we've often responded well to a defeat and I'm sure the same will happen tomorrow. I don't want to reveal the starting line-up. I'm happy to have [Hassane] Kamara back because he's an important, experienced player.”
Individual mistakes
“This season we've made several individual mistakes that have cost us dear. In sport you have to make decisions and then you deal with the consequences. We're working to cut down the mistakes, although they're part and parcel of the game. Against Fiorentina the match changed after the red card. We didn't react well and they exploited the situation. Our individual mistakes haven't only been by goalkeepers. When you concede goals, there are several factors and situations to consider. No one is happy with our performance in Florence or the mistakes we've made this season. We have three games left before we reach the halfway point and we want to get there in a better position than last season. We must learn from our past mistakes, work on the small details, focus on the good things we've done and use that for the future.”
Playing with ten men and the subs in Florence
“There are plenty of examples of teams who have drawn or won with ten or even nine men. We know we lost the way we did because we weren't able to react. We conceded goals we shouldn't have conceded. If we'd gone in at the break 1-0 down, we could have responded in the second half but at 3-0 down it's not easy against a good team like Fiorentina, in their own stadium. Lazio beat Parma with nine men but Parma had lots of chances they didn't take. Every match is different.
“I decided to take off [Christian] Kabasele because I had two other good centre-backs on the pitch. I could have taken off a striker but that's what I decided. The red card incident shook us because we prepared well for the game and it unbalanced us. I took off [Alessandro] Zanoli, who was on a yellow, and [Nicolo] Zaniolo at half time because I wanted to protect them and help them recover better for the Lazio game. In those situations you have to take decisions that have consequences and it's easier to assess them after the event but I'd make the same decision to substitute Kabasele, although I was sorry to take him off and we missed him during the match. We must learn from this defeat and we won't forget it but now we must look forward and concentrate on tomorrow's game.”
Zaniolo
“Zaniolo is a very physical player who makes lots of fouls – although I can remember situations where I wouldn't have whistled – but he also gets fouled a lot. He battles and takes lots of knocks. When he's on the ball, he can really make a difference and he's very important to us. He's always given his all. He has some clear goals in his mind and he wants to get back to his best level. I'm happy with him.
“In the last few days there have been some rumours about him that we can't do anything about but he's very professional and he's investing a lot in himself. It's not easy to perform the way he has after the last few years he's had. He's an emotional lad and that's also a quality. Perhaps he's too self-critical and he puts a lot of pressure on himself. We have to help him so that he can help us.
“No one in the team has a problem with him. Against Fiorentina everyone was poor and I took him off to protect him. I didn't want to anger the journalists in Florence but after a bad defeat you can go through a bad moment. In any case, I think it was right not to say too much after a game like that. The half-time substitutions were not designed to criticise players. The team as a whole didn't work and I'm the first person who's responsible for that. I'm happy with my players. They're improving, although you don't always see that on the pitch.
“Zaniolo is a smashing lad and we need to protect him. Sometimes he wants to do too much. I'm sure he'll have a great game tomorrow. The crowd will get behind him and he knows he's adored here. The days after we lost to Fiorentina were difficult for him as a lot of rubbish was written false stories were circulated. He's a crucial player for us and he has no problems in the dressing room. He knows how important a role he plays and he's demonstrating that. We're working to learn from games like the one against Fiorentina and to improve. Tomorrow we have a great opportunity to show our best face.”
Nunziante
“[Alessandro] Nunziante is improving but last year he played in Serie C. We have [Razvan] Sava, who is an international player and he too is a promising goalkeeper. He's had some difficult moments but he has my confidence, just as Okoye, Nunziante and [Daniele] Padelli do. Serie A is not a league where you can develop players – the league table is what matters most. We want to be consistent and we need consistency in goal, like in all the other positions. We've conceded 27 goals, which means we're the worst defence and we're all responsible for that – from the goalkeeper to the strikers. We're not at all happy and we're working. In order for everyone to play well we must be consistent. I don't know if playing Nunziante against Lazio would be the best decision. You have to consider lots of things and we have to be careful. We signed him because he has huge potential and his time will come but it's not now.
“The whole team needs to give stability to the defence, not just the goalkeeper. For example, the first goal against Fiorentina came from a free kick that could have been avoided and we can look at what wrong decisions we made to concede it. Now we're focused on the future. We must make the right decisions against Lazio and produce a good performance.”