Di Francesco: Rossi needs to be fired up

By ESPNSTAR.com staff

The former Manchester City target did not play a part in Roma's 2-0 win over Atalanta over the weekend with the Italian press speculating that the midfielder has fallen out with Zeman.

Zeman has struggled to get the best out of the Giallorossi and could not prevent an embarrasing 4-1 defeat to rivals Juventus in the previous league encounter. De Rossi, who was also disciplined by previous coach Luis Enrique, was criticised for his lethargic and low-key performance in the game.

But Di Francesco does not wish to read too much into the decision to not field De Rossi on Sunday and the former Roma midfielder insisted that it will take some time before Zeman gets the team to understand his tactical imperative.

"I believe Zeman's actions were simply a way of firing him up, prompting De Rossi to give his best in every single training session," Di Francesco told Radio Manà Manà.

"Daniele is a lovely guy and a great professional. It is absurd to put him up for debate.

"The players have not yet understood Zeman's ideas and the many changes to the squad did not help. If the results don't come, then it all becomes more difficult.

"The problem for this team is certainly psychological, as the fear sets in and they cannot react when things go wrong.

"The player who knows how to interpret Zeman's philosophy best is still Francesco Totti, who has great tactical versatility."

Roma are currently in sixth position after seven games and next play Genoa at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on October 21.