Ranieri eyes higher ground

Claudio Ranieri believes Roma need to come out firing when the Serie A season resumes if they are to make up ground on the league’s leaders.

Roma defeated table-toppers AC Milan 1-0 in their last match before the Italian winter break, but they are still seven points off the pace in fifth place.

They take on Catania at home on Thursday and Ranieri is expecting total commitment from his players as they attempt to improve their league position.

“I hope we’ll start with the same attitude and I’m sure we’ll start with the same determination,” Ranieri said.

“We should plug the gap and we want to go higher in the league, that’s what we’re working for.”

“It’s important to have the players ready and fit and then it’s possible to make the right choices. When there are great players who want to prove their skills, the coach isn’t worried because any choice will always be positive.”

“I’m not thinking about any specific player right now, I’m only focused on how to win against Catania.”

The 59-year-old former Chelsea and Juventus manager called on captain Franceso Totti and Brazilian recruit Adriano to start finding the net with regularity after subdued performances in the first half of the campaign.

“I expect a lot from Adriano since he still hasn’t scored a goal. I’m expecting a lot from (Francesco) Totti as well, as he’s scored a lot of goals in his career. I expect a lot from the captain,” he said.

“I also expect a lot from (Mirko) Vucinic as he has had some little injuries and only scored a few goals. (Jeremy) Menez also should keep on working hard and not stop. We’re trying to do a good job and we should prove we’re able to do it.”