Roberto De Zerbi discussed a wide range of topics after Sunday's 5-0 victory over Grimsby Town in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
On watching from the stand again…
[I have had] two games in the stand, 4-0 and the other 5-0. I think it’s better I have a season ticket there for the last part of the season! Of course, I prefer to stay in my place.
On Evan Ferguson’s performance…
He is a special striker. We are working to improve him not only as a striker but also his understanding of the play - when to receive the ball and attack the space - so he becomes a complete player. If you work with a clever guy like Evan it’s nice because he understands exactly what you want and will improve day by day.
He has goalscoring qualities, but he can arrive at a higher level. He has to learn to play like a midfielder when the play is away from the goal areas and like a striker in the last 20 metres. We need Ferguson and Danny Welbeck to be like a No10 and a No9.
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On the performance against Grimsby and tactical tweaks…
I didn’t like the first half. I told the players at half-time I wanted more, more, more. In the second half we were better. It has been a tough period for us with three games in eight days but we have to get used to this. In April we will play seven games and it will be a crucial month.
We played with three centre-backs and Pervis [Estupinan] is not a natural centre back, and he could have played better. Deniz Undav played well. It’s difficult when you are not playing games in a row, but I have a lot of confidence in him. He has big qualities and I want more from him.
I like to change tactical positions and to follow the characteristics of my players. We played against a line of five and decided to attack with one more striker with Mitoma and March as wingers and three No10s behind Ferguson. In the second half we made three or four fantastic actions. I also liked the performance of Yasin Ayari, who has big qualities and in the future he can become another [Moises] Caicedo, [Alexis] Mac Allister or [Kaoru] Mitoma. He is a good player.
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On going to Wembley…
We can decide if we go to Wembley as a tourist or try to win. I know it will be very difficult but if you play you want to win in every competition. If you fix your targets higher it is easier to lose, but it’s also the way to progress and grow as a team. I don’t like targets that are too easy.
You can’t predict the history of the FA Cup. If we go to Wembley we will try to make our fans happy and to write if possible the new history of our club. We have to play well, a perfect game in both the semi-finals and final to win [the competition]. I went to the Argentina v Italy game at Wembley last year as an Italian fan, this will be better.
On six home wins out of seven…
We can still improve but if you think about some of the games we didn’t win – Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Aston Villa – they were incredible games by us. Apart from Arsenal, who are one of the best teams in the Premier League, we are playing vey well. I think we deserved more points at home, but you could say the same about Crystal Palace and Leeds United away. I am pleased with our form.