Roma president James Pallotta is convinced his club can win the Serie A title this season, in spite of a recent dip in form.
The Giallorossi's five-game winning streak at the start of the season was ended by Juventus just before the last international break and they have since won only twice in the league, going down 2-0 at Napoli last time out and drawing 0-0 at Sampdoria.
There was also the embarrassing 7-1 home defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, although a 2-0 loss at the Bundesliga outfit this week has only strengthened Pallotta's belief that his side, who trail Juve by three points at the top of the standings, are good enough to win their first league title since 2001.
"We leave Munich with belief; the team gave their reply by showing what they are capable of," Pallotta said in Il Corriere dello Sport. "Our future is now in our own hands and I believe we can win the scudetto. In fact, I'm convinced we can win it. Why shouldn't we?
"We've got a strong squad and I have no doubts about our quality. We may be second and three points behind Juve, but we can recover that. We're aiming to play a great season, getting back to winning ways against Torino on Sunday. I've got great faith in Roma."
Not only is Pallotta optimistic about his side's chances in Italy, he is equally confident they can join Bayern in qualifying from Group A of the Champions League. They travel to CSKA Moscow in their next game knowing that a win there might already be enough to secure their passage regardless of the outcome of their final group game at home to Manchester City. For that to be the case, the Premier League club would have to fail to beat Bayern on Nov. 25.
"I'm certain we can go through, but it's not going to be easy in Russia," Pallotta said. "The Champions League means a lot to us because it's a great competition, but the league comes first."
After hosting Torino this Sunday, Roma travel to Atalanta before welcoming Inter Milan to the Stadio Olimpico at the end of the month.