Roberto Mancini insists Inter “had a good season and it was our best campaign in five years” after beating Empoli 2-1.
This result at San Siro secured fourth place and therefore Europa League qualification.
“It’s certainly difficult to whittle down these defects, but in this case we lost Mauro Icardi to injury straight after I substituted Stevan Jovetic, so we lost intensity in attack,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium and Sky Sport Italia.
Roberto Mancini insists Inter “had a good season and it was our best campaign in five years” after beating Empoli 2-1.
This result at San Siro secured fourth place and therefore Europa League qualification.
“It’s certainly difficult to whittle down these defects, but in this case we lost Mauro Icardi to injury straight after I substituted Stevan Jovetic, so we lost intensity in attack,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium and Sky Sport Italia.
“In the second half we went 3-4-3 and allowed Empoli to pin us back. Being able to read the game situations is important. We also created four or five chances without scoring.”
The Nerazzurri secure fourth place and Europa League qualification, but the atmosphere is not celebratory.
“We wouldn’t have finished fourth if we had all done better. The position is what we deserve, because we threw away all the good work we did in the first six months.
“In Italy we are capable of criticising everything, but we should instead be able to see the positives of a team and we have done good things.
“We will try to reinforce the team, but this remains Inter’s best campaign in the last five years.”
Does Mancini expect a Scudetto challenge next season?
“If Juve are like this, then I don’t think anyone can compete with them. Then again football is strange, Leicester can win the Premier League, so things can happen.
“I think in the end we had a good season. There were errors, which is normal, as this is no longer the Inter from 2006 to 2010.
“You don’t build a team with a magic wand, it takes patience and we still need to improve in many aspects.”
Samir Handanovic complained it was starting to trouble him that Inter missed out on the Champions League again. Could players like the goalkeeper push to leave?
“I don’t know. The players are these, I am the Coach, so if we don’t qualify then that’s on us. If a player wants to take part in the Champions League, then that’s good. Inter are working well and we need just a bit of patience.”
Inter have scored 30 fewer goals this season than Roma and Napoli, so will it be a long time before they can compete with those clubs too?
“In the head-to-head matches with teams above us in the table, we always played on the same level. That is important. We tend to lose concentration more against the smaller clubs.”