Claudio Ranieri is happy with his work at AS Roma.

The veteran coach will leave next week after replacing the sacked Eusebio di Francesco earlier this year.

"Overall, I feel positive. When I arrived here, there was a sense of disappointment around the team – the boys were downbeat because they had high hopes," he told asroma.com.

“Nobody can come in and wave a magic wand. I needed to make the defenders feel better protected and, little by little, things have improved for us. This team has a positive future, because there are young and talented players here. I'm sure they will do well.

“Roma means everything to me. Which fan wouldn't accept the opportunity to manage the team they love, even for just one game? I got the call at a difficult time. Had it been another team, I'd never have said yes – I would never have taken such a risk. Can you imagine, had we carried on losing after the matches against SPAL and Napoli? I would have had all the criticism.

“I thought all of those things, but love takes you beyond cold and practical reasoning. I agreed to take this risk."