03 December 2015
Following Massimiliano Allegri’s pre-match conference at Vinovo earlier in the day, opposite number Stefano Pioli followed suit to take to the hot seat in Rome this afternoon to preview Friday night’s meeting at the Stadio Olimpico.
Pioli, who represented Juventus between 1984 and 1987, called on his charges to put their recent disappointing results on the shelf and to play with confidence against the reigning champions, an approach that is the “only solution” to the Biancocelesti’s current winless run.
Here is a pick of the Lazio boss’ key quotes:
CURRENT FORM
“In a difficult period like this, the opposition is not important. We’ve got no time to lose now and we need a result.
“We have two options: either we can approach the match focusing solely on avoiding mistakes and not conceding or we can go out there, believe in ourselves and try and win it off our own steam. For me, there’s only one solution.”
RECENT DIFFICULTIES
“As a group, we’ve been through far better periods, put it that way. We need to start offering more options for the man in possession and make sure we’re flawless in our play.”
DIFFERENCES FROM LAST SEASON
“Something isn’t quite working at the moment. We’re sorely lacking consistency in our results and as a result, our confidence could be higher.
“We’ll be looking at our injury situation in some depth over the coming days but we won’t be using that as an excuse. There are still plenty of opportunities for us to turn our season around.”
LULIC’S INJURY
“He was calm but frustrated (following an operation on his hand). It was a situation that I for one had certainly never seen before. I’ve sent him my best wishes and we all hope to see him back in action as soon as possible.”
THE BIANCOCELESTI BACKLINE
“We’re facing a great team tomorrow night so we’ll need to be as tight as possible at the back and make sure we convert every chance that comes our way at the other end.”
KLOSE AND ATTACKING OPTIONS
“Klose is a forward of immense tactical awareness but I’m yet to finalise in my own mind my starting XI for Friday night. Whether Klose features or not, he is a massive player for us.
“Juve have real offensive variety at their disposal but so do we. We know what we need to do to win the match; it’s just a matter of ensuring that we transfer what we’ve been working on from the training ground to the pitch tomorrow night.
“Whoever I go with, we will need to get more bodies in the box than we have done in recent weeks. If we can pick up where we left off against Empoli last time out, then I’ll be happy.”
GOALS FOR THE SEASON AHEAD
“Our ultimate goal is to make sure we’re playing in Europe again next season. We’re a little behind where we would like to be at the moment but there’s still plenty we can achieve between now and May. Doing so is entirely in our own hands.”
