Antonio Conte warns Inter have “no time to cry and hide” ahead of their Serie A showdown with a “mature” Roma on Friday.
The Nerazzurri are currently top of Serie A, one point above Juventus, but have a tough test against in-form Roma tomorrow.
Conte admits they are going through a small crisis in terms on injuries and is already looking forward to the Christmas holidays.
“We will try to get to Christmas in the best possible state,” the coach said at a press conference.
Antonio Conte warns Inter have “no time to cry and hide” ahead of their Serie A showdown with a “mature” Roma on Friday.
The Nerazzurri are currently top of Serie A, one point above Juventus, but have a tough test against in-form Roma tomorrow.
Conte admits they are going through a small crisis in terms on injuries and is already looking forward to the Christmas holidays.
“We will try to get to Christmas in the best possible state,” the coach said at a press conference.
“After the break, we will try to recover many of the players who are missing. We try to stay focused and move forward game after game and we even cross our fingers.
“This is not a new situation for us, but we are facing it in the right way. When we’ve had problems, many players have taken on the responsibility.
“There are still four games left in this period, we will do it with our chests out, knowing what our strengths and weaknesses are. No time to cry and hide. We must do our best.”
He pointed at the Giallorossi’s latest results to underline the growth they’ve made under new boss Paulo Fonseca.
“Roma are in great form at the moment. The 3-1 win at Verona shows how their maturity, strength and knowledge, something that will force us to pay great attention.
“Over the summer, players were brought in to give a response, just like the coach. I congratulate them.
“It’s a game of very high difficulty, we must think about our own path. We need to be clinical in our finishing.
“He is demonstrating his qualities after his spell in Ukraine. You have to settle here, your opponents study you and prepare very well to stop you. He brought an idea and modelled it for this League.
“Roma deserve compliments, they have a competitive team made up of experienced players and some very interesting talent. They’re a team with legs and strength, it’s not a surprise – neither are Lazio.”
Lautaro Martinez is one of the Inter players who have really stepped up to the plate this season, scoring eight Serie A goals so far.
The striker has added another five in as many Champions League games, but Conte preferred to focus on the whole team and their need to keep improving.
“When people are talking too much about individuals, I never like it. I want to talk about the team.
“Lautaro is improving and growing, but I’d like to underline the whole group’s work.
“We must try to improve our knowledge about what kind of football we are playing. We can certainly grow in both phases of the game.
“A series of situations has led to us pushing even harder, but we will have to keep doing it until the last game of the season, crushing the accelerator pedal.”