Gasperini: ‘Ferguson had plenty of chances, Dybala ready for Celtic’

Gian Piero Gasperini warns Evan Ferguson ‘had plenty of chances’ and has failed to deliver at Roma, while Paulo Dybala shook off flu symptoms to face Celtic.

It kicks off at Celtic Park in Glasgow on Thursday at 20.00 GMT.

The Giallorossi are smarting after two consecutive Serie A defeats to Napoli and Cagliari, the latter when they went down to 10 men for a Zeki Celik red card.

Dybala was only ready to come off the bench in that game late on and it was later revealed he had been suffering from flu symptoms.

“Dybala has shaken off the flu, he has been training for a while, so everyone who is here can play,” said Gasperini in his press conference.

The recurring problem that is hard to ignore is the difficulty that Roma have had scoring goals so far this season.

“We have never been particularly prolific, but we did well in fits and starts. We were less capable of creating opportunities in the last couple of matches, but this is never an individual issue, it’s about the whole team.

“I won’t listen to suggestions there is fatigue, we play every four days and therefore have time to recover. This team will run to the end.”

Part of the disappointment in attack is down to Ferguson, with reports Gasperini and Roma are ready to send him back to Brighton and Hove Albion just six months into this loan spell.

Even with Artem Dovbyk out injured, the coach still prefers to use Dybala or Tommaso Baldanzi as a False 9.

“I have nothing against him personally, it’s about the performances. Ferguson had a lot of chances,” noted Gasperini.

“We want to wait for him to develop, but he has to do better, not just on a technical level, but in terms of attitude. For example, Mario Hermoso is a pillar of the locker room too, someone who sets the example on the field.”

There are injury problems for Evan Ndicka and Neil El Aynaoui, while Italy Under-21 international Niccolò Pisilli might get a rare start in midfield.

Roma were already in Glasgow earlier in the Europa League this season, picking up a victory away to Rangers, so does he expect a different type of game against Celtic?

“They are a very good team, playing here is never easy, as you can feel the history in this stadium. I hope it will be a good game between two sides who both want important points.”

Celtic recently changed management and switched to a three-man defence, just like Gasperini’s Roma.

“Systems are so varied now, the details make the difference. It used to be just my Atalanta who played with a three-man defence in Europe, now a few more have this approach.

“I like Celtic, they had a very attacking attitude in their last game and impressed me.”