Lazio, Sarri's press conference: "It looks like another season from scratch, but I'm happy here"

We’re all delighted to have the fans back. It’s great to play in front of our supporters in a packed stadium. We’d like to say thank you, and we hope to show our gratitude on the pitch too, even though it’s a very tough match. Having them close by is a huge source of motivation at this delicate moment. The fans have also played a major role in my past decisions. I really like this atmosphere. I feel in tune with it, so that will carry weight. I’m pleased that the fans ask me to wave to them, but I don’t usually go down to the stand because I prefer not to steal the limelight from the players. However, we’ll need to be good at setting ourselves goals that matter to us, regardless of what’s happening outside. Apart from the two or three poor matches, I have little to say about the team’s character. I do, however, expect confirmation of the mentality with which we approached and concluded the match. I always tell the team that the most dangerous moment when playing against sides like Milan is precisely when we have the ball.

Milan have distinct characteristics. They can strike at any moment, with exceptional technical and physical qualities. We’ll need to be careful not to give them space, because they have devastating bursts of pace. It’s a very tough match tactically as well. Over the last few days we’ve been trying out two options, with either Patric or Taylor in the playmaker role. We’ll try to assess Romagnoli’s fitness until tomorrow morning, but the situation isn’t exactly straightforward. If I ask my players to aim for certain goals, then I must be the first to try to achieve them: I will always field the most suitable line-up to achieve that result. Przyborek is showing promising signs; we’ll see when he’s ready to settle into this league environment. Set-pieces are a problem; there’s no point in hiding it. Not always having the same line-up available doesn’t help either, because it forces me to keep changing the marking. Modric is a model of humility. He’s thrown himself back into the fray at his age, with tremendous dedication, and always gives his all. He remains one of the greatest of this era, and having him – even if he were younger – is everyone’s dream. Top-class players have a special mindset. Zaccagni has had a difficult season, with constant issues, but if we’re honest, he’s clearly improving in the last two or three matches. He deserves to have a good end to the season. If spaces open up, someone like Dele-Bashiru is getting better at exploiting them. He still needs to improve in certain situations; at times he seems to play without a sense of danger, but the signs are starting to look positive.

Fabiani has only stated facts. There is a contract in place, which still has two years to run. If the club isn’t happy or I’m not happy, then we’ll discuss it, but at the moment there’s no question of it. It looks set to be another ‘year zero’, because there are lots of players whose contracts are coming to an end and many who we already know are leaving. I repeat, I’m happy here and my contract still has two years to run. We’ll see how everything else pans out as we go along.

We need to settle on one of the goalkeepers. Motta has made 20 appearances at professional level, Furlanetto 12. It’s clear that both still have room for improvement. For now, we’re giving Motta a go; we’ll see how things go in the coming matches.