Luciano Spalletti shrugs off any talk of an Inter crisis, insisting “we’ve done incredible things” so far.
The Nerazzurri were unbeaten until Week 17, but their last five games in all competitions have brought three defeats, a 0-0 draw at Juventus and penalty win over Pordenone in the Coppa Italia.
“We try to bring factual data,” Spalletti said in today’s Press conference.
Luciano Spalletti shrugs off any talk of an Inter crisis, insisting “we’ve done incredible things” so far.
The Nerazzurri were unbeaten until Week 17, but their last five games in all competitions have brought three defeats, a 0-0 draw at Juventus and penalty win over Pordenone in the Coppa Italia.
“We try to bring factual data,” Spalletti said in today’s Press conference.
“An example would be that if we had arrived with two losses to Juve and Napoli, or having won or drawn in one of those two games, the way things are viewed would be different.
“Since things players have done exceptional things before, it’s easy to go and find some difficulty now. Since we’ve done everything ourselves up to now, we can find a solution.
“In moments like these you get to know your individual qualities, so you can find the strength to react and be ready to achieve your objectives, no-one else can give you the solutions you’re looking for.
“Today, since we’ve done incredible things, we have to be clear about who we are and where we’ve come from.
“Since we know we’re strong, we can’t be in great difficulty if we don’t want to be, we have the solutions and we’ve shown that.
“In football there are times where everything goes wrong and you have to let time pass to recuperate your energy, and that’s what gives birth to the reaction.
“We have to think in the right way, which isn’t just to be positive, but because we have data which doesn’t allow us to be pessimistic. We carry with us the facts of what’s happened since I’ve been here.
“These numbers can be highlighted to show that we all have the solutions we’re looking for.
“Objectives are fine, but what makes the difference is organisation, procedures, our way of working that has to be recognisable and clear.
“There are professional scares and you have to get used to that. Right now fourth place is at risk, but that happens in the course of a league season.
“By the way, when I say this I’m not just talking about journalists, but anyone who talks about Inter.
“It’s clear that on this journey we’ve worked well and we have the numbers to show that. With what’s happened so far, these players have shown they have it in them to solve games.
“You have to remember the context in which you work, what you have built and the person you are inside yourself and what you’ve done so far. That helps you rediscover the strength you have.
“It seems to me that the Inter fans are doing that on their own, because if I’m not mistaken we’ll have over 60,000 tomorrow. They have confidence in what we’re doing and that’s why they come to support us.
“If during the wins I became more Interista, now that we’ve lost I’ve fallen in love with the reaction I’ve seen from the fans.
“We need to be the example for each other. If a player is timid in the transition, everyone becomes timid because they take their cue from that.
“If someone makes a strong challenge, everyone will follow that example. We need to allow ourselves to become ingrained with what we are: a strong team.
“Even if we didn’t give the best account of ourselves in the derby, where we definitely had to do something more, in the other games we lost I didn’t see a team in trouble.
“I hear talk about Lazio and Roma, who are having an exceptional season, about the two others [Napoli and Juventus] who are extra-terrestrial teams, and it seems to me that we’re in the same bracket and no-one has really given us anything.
“We’re good, we’ve created the conditions to be believed in. No-one gave us anything and no-one but ourselves can get us out of this situation now.
“I’ve seen them all a bit demoralised and right now I have to be close to them, show them who they really are, namely players who were signed by a strong team on merit – no-one is here by accident.
“When you’re here, and you wear these colours, you have to know how to react, you can’t shy away from what is required of you.
“If you play for Inter you can’t hide, you’ll find people against you on all sides. They’ll tell you the worst things and you have to know how to react and rebut them, otherwise you have to go and play somewhere else.
“Either we’re players who deserve to be here, or we don’t know how to be that.
"I said we'll never be in trouble because we have the solutions. These lads are masters of their own destiny, and we have the ability to have a good one.
"In the past they wrote: 'weak men have weak destinies, strong men have strong destinies'.
"Let's see what kind of men we are."