AS Roma coach Eusebio di Francesco denies clashing with his players after their defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek.

There were claims he blasted his players after the Champions League setback.

But he said, “I want to clarify a few things that were reported and are not true. I never speak to the team after the game, I did not speak to the directors, I just had a brief chat at dinner. I only spoke to the players yesterday.

“I sent forth the message that we can go through in the Champions League and must rediscover the strength and consistency we had. I don't even mean for 90 minutes, but for 70 minutes would be enough to win the game.

“If there was something personal said, it will remain personal. Our desire is together to build a mentality. That goes through many issues, such as rules, projects and consistency.

“I have to constantly stimulate the squad to focus and work the way they did up until the first goal. We did everything right before that, but one error we made in the first half proved decisive. It was a subconscious drop in concentration, it was not purposefully resting on our laurels.

“We lick our wounds and use the experience to learn from our mistakes and work on those weaknesses."