Some people say it’s never good to go back in football. Did you ever stop and question whether you were making the right decision?

“Some decisions are guided exclusively by reason and others are influenced by sentiment — mine was the latter. As for the risk factor, that’s always present in my job and I believe that any coach has to be prepared for the fact that things might not go well because this is a possibility.

“Of course, the risk gets bigger and bigger since we coaches are required to do nothing else but win. In my case, if you manage to qualify for the Champions League in Serie A you’ve done your job and you’ve done it well, especially since famous teams like Inter, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio all failed to reach this target. When you’re in charge of one of these teams you really have to fight to get into the top spots, so that means the clubs which finish ahead of you have to do really well. Rome did well, so did Napoli and Juventus did fantastically.”

In your second game, you lost to Juventus. What happened after that game because the team went on an amazing run of results?

“We realised a few things about ourselves. I put fear into the team going into that contest in Turin because I spoke too much about focus, holding certain positions and being a team in just one sense. Nevertheless, the players showed me against Juve that they were prepared to do the things I was asking of them, even if what I had asked on that particular occasion was wrong seeing how the game ended up.

“As a result, I modified a few things in my instructions and in every game from then on we saw that we could dare more, demand more and go harder. The players at this club have even greater potential than what we’ve seen so far.”

The team finished the season unbeaten in 17 league games and only beaten once in Serie A since you returned. Did you wish the season could have carried on?

“Unfortunately the season can’t carry on but everything the players have achieved we can carry with us going forward. The second half of this season will stay with the lads, it’s theirs and it’s not going to be taken away from them during the break. During these months, the players rediscovered their true abilities, got satisfaction from their work and found enthusiasm, bags of goals and good play — everything that is positive from a football match. These memories belong to them and they won’t be easy to forget. It’s clear that this is what they wanted and what they were looking for. I’m dealing with some intelligent people here.”

Was there a particular game that stands out for you? That pleased you personally in terms of the team playing YOUR football?

“There were more than one because we had games in which we bossed the play from start to finish, those in which we had to change tack and others where we were able to withstand the pressure and take home the win. Every time we stepped onto the pitch was fundamental in terms of reaching the standard of performance and team unity which made the difference over the long term.

“If I absolutely have to pick out one game from all of them, I’d say the derby which is always a special match here, partly because everyone is waiting for that game as further proof of the team’s quality. I must say, however, that the Sassuolo match was important too. We took the lead early on that day but then we had to deal with being a man down and suffering a few injuries, but we still took home three vital points. I’d also like to mention the win against Napoli at the Olimpico when we lost two of the four players who started in defence — both of whom were vital for our defensive solidity as a team — yet nevertheless we won.”