Evan N'Dicka and Mats Hummels struck for Roma to earn the point in London.
“The lads truly put in a great performance. I was not happy with the game against Napoli, as I don’t like to only defend and it was not the message I wanted to send to the players and the fans,” Ranieri told Sky Italia.
“I was very clear this time, I told them I do not want a team that just defends. If they have an attack, then we need to attack them right away in return.
“Fans of any club love a team that tries to win. You can achieve it or not, but the important thing is to try your best to get that victory, not sit wait and see what happens. I could not have been clearer with my players on what I wanted from them this evening.
“They gave me a strong response and never gave up. I told them the result is important yes, but the performance more so, because I need you to prove to the fans that you are here, prove you have not forgotten how to play football.”
The veteran coach also said: “This is what I asked. I said the result wasn’t the issue, I wanted them to dig deep for all their resources. I congratulated Tottenham and Postecoglu, because I admire their attacking spirit and making the most of their pacey players.
“We also surprised them a few times with a cross-field pass to change things up and move their defence, we just weren’t precise enough with our crosses, until we finally were. This is an important match because it reminds the players they have not forgotten how to play football, but it is still one match and we must build on that now.”