Juric: ‘Negativity around Roma, we must be mentally strong’ | OneFootball

Ivan Juric admits there is ‘negativity’ affecting Roma and he ‘cannot be satisfied’ with the 1-1 Europa League draw against Union Saint-Gilloise.

The Giallorossi had hit the woodwork with a Tommaso Baldanzi curler before taking the lead in Brussels with the Gianluca Mancini header anticipating Luxembourg international goalkeeper Anthony Moris.

However, Mile Svilar slipped on the turf and Kevin Mac Allister was allowed to nod in a corner at the back post to draw level, with Union SG threatening a winner deep into stoppages.

It means Roma have only five points from four Europa League matches now and are going to face a battle to avoid automatic elimination at the end of this first phase.

Juric not satisfied with struggling Roma

epa11707944 Lorenzo Pellegrini of AS Roma (L) and Ross Sykes of Union SG (R) interact as they get off the ground during the UEFA Europa League match between Union SG and AS Roma in Brussels, Belgium, 07 November 2024. EPA-EFE/OLIVIER MATTHYS

“There were some positive aspects and other negative ones that I did not like,” Juric told Sky Sport Italia.

“The result is negative, it is good that we got a point, but we cannot be satisfied with that.”

It was noted that the tension around the club all campaign has probably contributed to the number of avoidable errors made by the Roma players.

“I don’t know what to tell you, we are making mistakes. It could well be a psychological issue. It’s disappointing, because the lads are giving their all, but not getting the results that they would deserve,” insisted the coach.

“It was not a very sharp performance, we are making costly individual errors. This is football. We can’t seem to be tough enough to win games when we don’t play at our best.

“There have been some very positive moments of form where we didn’t get the results that could’ve really launched us forward. Now there is a sense of negativity around us. We must have mental strength to emerge from this situation.”

Despite missing both Evan Ndicka and Mario Hermoso this evening, Juric still did not give Mats Hummels a single minute of football, preferring to drop midfielder Bryan Cristante into the centre of a three-man defence.

At this point, the German veteran has made only one appearance in the Giallorossi jersey and the coach continues to call it a ‘technical decision.’

It is not helping the reports that Juric could be fired, so does he expect to sit down with the club owners for discussions?

“I am focused only on training, I let everything else go in order to concentrate on my work, because I cannot influence the rest. I cannot and do not want to get into that.”