Roma coach Rudi Garcia admits that Roma are ‘dreaming big’ and that he look to will open talks over extending his contract at the end of the season.
The Giallorossi have surpassed all expectations in their first season under the Frenchman, currently sitting 2nd in Serie A with 79 points from their 33 games so far.
Garcia spoke to Sky TG24 on Wednesday morning to promote his autobiography, ‘All Roads Lead to Rome – Football Is My Life’, and confirmed that he is happy in the Italian capital.
“Renewal? Yes I said I’m fine here, I have decided to talk with the leaders of the company at the end of the season; now isn’t the time.”
“I like [Rome] so much, it is in my heart. It’s true that there is so much passion from the fans, I am a bit more measured and different, but I like it.”
The former Lille coach though admits that it was initially difficult coming into the club.
“When I arrived I knew that the environment was difficult to say the least.
“I have already said on other occasions the two things I’ve worked on have been the confidence of the players and the team’s play on the field.
“I knew that the team needed to take pleasure in playing together again… after working on this unity we got the results… to establish a winning mindset was critical for me.”
Garcia claims that he should not take all the credit for Roma’s improved performance this season.
“The credit for this belongs to everyone. I reiterate that the best victory I’ve had here is to have restored pride to the fans so they can be proud of their team, to restore the smile.
“For example, when we played Atalanta in our last game, the atmosphere at the Olimpico was fantastic. It’s true that the game was good, there were some good goals, but the fusion of unity between the fans and the players is really my main satisfaction.”
The 50-year-old insists that he has not giving up hope of achieving Roma’s first Serie A title since 2001, despite being eight points behind leaders Juventus with only five games remaining.
“As long as there is life there is hope. Of course every time a game passes and the gap does not change it becomes increasingly difficult.
“But, I’ve also said this to the players, it’s just when it seems that nothing more can happen that maybe something happens, so we must not give up… sometimes results are unexpected.”
Garcia though is already looking ahead to next season, which should see Roma return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2010/11 season.
“I have not talked about [specific transfer targets].
“The only thing that I have said to the media and my president is that my desire is to have a squad that can give us a fantastic season, so I would be able to maintain, and reinforce, the team with purchases.
“The business plan always comes first and I have to talk to the president.
“The only thing is that in the Champions League next year, I want to at least get through the group stage, but at the moment we can still not fight with the big European teams, our goal is to do so in the future, but Rome was not built in a day, as Juventus have also demonstrated in Europe.
“Next year will be difficult times in which we will need everyone’s support, but we will try to construct a team that gets stronger every day, because the fans deserve it. We dream big.”
Follow George Gibson on Twitter: @George_Gibson9
