Roma coach Luciano Spalletti and talismanic playmaker Francesco Totti have warned Internazionale that the race for the Scudetto is still wide open.

Roma went down 3-0 at Siena last weekend, allowing Inter to extend their lead at the top of Serie A to eight points by scraping a 1-0 win with 10 men at home to struggling Empoli.

"We're not giving up - and we remain positive," Spalletti said. "We will try to reduce the gap, even in the face of Inter's imposing form.

"You ask me if I still believe we can win the Scudetto I will always believe in everything that can be improved upon."

Totti admitted that the latest loss was deserved.

"At Siena we played badly," admitted Totti. "We didn't expect the defeat, but we will accept it and learn from it.

"We all made a mistake in our approach to the game. We cannot hide from that responsibility; but we also cannot throw away all the good things we have done so far.

"We owe it to our fans, to the club and to ourselves to continue to battle for the Scudetto. We believe it is still possible."

Spalletti however agreed that Inter's ability to pick up three points when suffering from a lack of form was worrying.

"Right now only the Nerazzurri can lose the title," he added. "Inter win even when they are not at their best.

"Whatever happens, we cannot afford to make any more mistakes. We need to win all our games."

Roma finished second to Roberto Mancini's side in last season's Serie A table.

Jonathan Symcox / Eurosport