Gasperini's pre-Verona press conference

This is what he had to say...

Apart from Paulo Dybala and Leon Bailey, is everyone else fit? Given that this is your third game in a week, are you planning to rotate?

“Besides those two, there are no other difficult situations. I never like to make wholesale changes. Those who are doing well in this period need to play regularly so that we can fully grasp certain game situations that we're getting better at. The team is improving with each match. It's not a fitness problem because we played on Wednesday, so we have an extra day before Sunday. When you're fit, you can keep playing even if you're a bit sore. We always have five substitutions and that makes a big difference in the game. It means you can field a fresh, competitive team, then of course there may be some problems. We play tomorrow, Thursday then again on Sunday. When you have two or three weeks in a row with midweek games, you always need to make some changes, but my plan is not to change the team, then you can get help from the subs.”

You've won four of your five games so far, so it's been an excellent start. Did you expect – or hope for – such a good start?

“I don't know if it's the best. I don't look at stats much. Besides, I've had so many seasons and there have been good starts and not so good starts. This one has definitely been good as far as the results go. But what I really want to see at the start of the season is the team making progress, doing a bit more, playing with more confidence in every match. We want more players involved and improving their performances, but you have to sow before you reap. We're pleased with the results, and they help, but we have to look beyond that. We need to grow the team, help them play better, make them more solid, give them more belief, and then keep adding reliable players.”