Will continue giving my all for Roma: Paulo Fonseca

Roma manager Paulo Fonseca has expressed his desire to continue performing to the best of his capabilities for the Serie A club, despite being sacked. Fonseca will leave the club at the end of the season, with former Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho set to take over. The Italian side will look to overcome a 6-2 first-leg deficit, in the second leg against Manchester United with the Giallorossi certainly in a spot of great bother. Fonseca was seen interacting with the media ahead of the second leg, with the press conference marking the first time he had spoken to the media since the announcement of him leaving the club.

The 48-year-old termed “professionalism” as something he believed was “very important”, when asked about his emotions following the announcement of Mourinho’s arrival.

“For me, professionalism is something I believe is very important. I am okay, I am focused on things here just like I was the very first day I got here. I am motivated, I want to do the best I can for Roma for as long as I am still here. Mourinho is a great coach, everyone knows that, and I am sure he will do a great job here,” he said as quoted by the official website of AS Roma.

Will go through with the same attitude

Fonseca further elaborated by stating that he did not consider the scenario as “one of the most difficult challenges” of his career. The 48-year-old said he would go through the period with the same attitude.

“I will go through this period with the same attitude; being professional, focusing on my work and doing that until the last day,” he added.

Fonseca backed Roma to make a comeback against Manchester United in the second leg, despite the bleak chances. The Italian side had recorded a fine triumph against Barcelona in 2018.

“Clearly it is not easy to beat Manchester United by four goals – but I have seen a lot of things happen in football. Nothing is impossible. I believe that anything can happen.”

The 48-year-old stated that he was expecting a “tough” game against the English side, but held a desire to fight until the end.

“I’m expecting a tough game. Going up against Manchester United is always very difficult. They have a good first leg advantage but we want to win the game. We want to fight until the very end.”