Roberto Mancini reiterates Inter’s objective is the Champions League, whilst he reflects on tactics, the transfer market and early criticism.
The Coach held a Press conference in Rome on Monday, where he was given the title of UNICEF World Ambassador.
Considering a number of topics with the media, the Nerazzurro boss began with the subject of the 4-2 defeat last night to Roma.
Roberto Mancini reiterates Inter’s objective is the Champions League, whilst he reflects on tactics, the transfer market and early criticism.
The Coach held a Press conference in Rome on Monday, where he was given the title of UNICEF World Ambassador.
Considering a number of topics with the media, the Nerazzurro boss began with the subject of the 4-2 defeat last night to Roma.
“Of course I'd have preferred to come here with a draw,” he admitted. “But this is what sport is like, you must know how to accept the negative results.
“We knew it wasn't going to be peaches and cream, let's try and start again.
“In these first few days I had to face three matches and working isn't simple. But the boys are willing, they want to change something and this is good.
“Yesterday there were some good things too, and this is important.”
Mancini was sent to the stands during last night’s defeat.
“I don't even know why I was sent off. But it's not important. Maybe I should have thought of it beforehand…
“Anyway there were things to be done, I still need time. The first weeks are like this, those who work in this job know that if you work well, things change with time.”
As a veteran of the Premier League, Mancini was asked whether he would have been punished as harshly in England:
“I don't know, among other things because I don't know why I was sent off. But I'm not interested in talking about the referee.”
Mancini was a bit more evasive about the mercato: “We'll see about that. In the meantime let's win as many points as possible, then we'll talk.
“In any case we must think about purchasing essential players, not buying just for the sake of it.
“It's not the formation that makes the difference,” he said, about the idea that the team might have been built for a different Coach.
“If the team feels more comfortable in one formation then I'm happy to keep it.
“But the mistakes we saw were about confidence, besides, I saw some good things as well.
“Nonetheless finding the right solutions so that the team can play better is up to the Coach, we'll see how we did at the end.
“Our target is the Champions League. We have two paths that are not easy, but it's nice when you succeed in something that isn't easy.
“We're just going to think about winning, then we'll see when we get there.
“I also think that the other teams will drop down, and it'll be up to us to take advantage of that.
“The race for the third place is going to be with Napoli, Milan, Fiorentina.”
Mancini was less confident about Inter's possibility of competing for the Scudetto.
“The duel is between them [Roma and Juventus], I don't know which one will win. Roma have great players, Juventus are solid. It's going to be a good fight.”
The 50-year-old has already faced with some criticism from the Press, but he has brushed it off.
“I do my job and you do yours. I make my choices, but it's not the system that makes a team win.
“What you must change is the mentality, you have to play like Inter even when you lose and experience disappointments, in the hopes that they pass quickly.
“Let's not look at the standings, in certain situations it's enough to win two games in a row and the self-esteem is restored.”
Mancini also expressed sympathy for Cesare Prandelli, recently removed as Coach from Galatasaray.
“I'm sorry for him, he wasn't even doing too bad in the standings. Football goes too fast, they should have given more time to a Coach who was new to the Turkish reality.”