Gabriele Cioffi says Udinese have put the disappointment of Monday's last-gasp defeat to Inter behind them and are ready for Roma – despite having to contend with a crowded treatment room.
“We go again with belief and without thinking too much because if you think too much, you'll find an excuse to relent,” the coach began, speaking at his pre-match media conference on Saturday.
“We started the week by knuckling down and keeping in mind the good things we did. We know that with 180%, not even with 110%, we could have got a result.
“Our performance against Inter restored a bit of confidence and we'll take that into the business end of the season. We must find a reason to do things, not to not do things. I don't want to create excuses and nor do the players.
“I'm sure that even if we only had 12 players for this game, they'd give 180%, actually 181%, because 180% wasn't enough against Inter.”
The fallout from Monday's match includes injuries to Florian Thauvin and Sandi Lovric, further depleting the squad at Cioffi's disposal.
“They're fine mentally. We want to get them fit again as quickly as possible and we're confident we can.
“Joao Ferreira can play in more than one position. He's a smart lad and a quality player who can do well both in defence and further forward.
“Oier Zarraga and Walace is an option we have for the middle pairing. We don't have many to choose from but the ones we do have are good. They'll have to do a bit of overtime.”
Meanwhile up front Keinan Davis remains unavailable and Brenner won't be available either.
“Brenner was away 10 days for family reasons. We've prepared a special training programme for him so that we can have him back for Verona. Isaac Success is fine. He's had an excellent week in training.”
Finally, the boss shared his thoughts on the Giallorossi, who have undergone a resurgence since the appointment of Daniele De Rossi.
“We knew that Inter would respect us and Roma will do the same. They were more direct under [Jose] Mourinho. They got more men behind the ball. With De Rossi they keep the ball more and can string great moves together.
“I expect them to rotate but only minimally, even though they have some huge games coming up: the second leg against Milan and a six-pointer with Bologna, their direct rivals in the league. I think they will rotate but not excessively.”