APPIANO GENTILE - Fourteen points separate Inter and Roma in the Serie A table, but José Mourinho insists that the Giallorossi are still one of his team's main rivals for the title. "I see Inter-Roma as a great match, a match between two teams capable of competing for the Scudetto victory," said Mourinho during Saturday's pre-match press conference. "Our opponents' position in the table isn't a true reflection of their quality. They have dropped a few points needlessly but in terms of their quality I have always said and I will continue to say that I like Roma a lot and I also really like some of their players."
Mourinho is playing his cards close to his chest. He admitted: "I have no idea how my opponent will play, so I can't make life easy for him. Ranieri usually uses 4-4-2 but he could play with a diamond midfield or 4-4-1-1. I don't know how I will play, but we know that Rui Faria (Mourinho's fitness coach and main technical assistant) is phenomenal and we are working well to have the best possible team for this match."
The Inter coach went on to analyse the effects of Wednesday's comeback win over Dynamo Kiev and the squad's preparations for tomorrow night's match in Milan: "The team has worked well, as always. They have the same positive spirit. They want to work and train. Nothing special. Me, Magician Mourinho? The effect on me after a victory or a defeat is exactly the same. After the victory in Kiev I didn't feel anything different to when the press writes than I am not a coach, but only a communicator. The noise of the enemies? We will hear it again soon, but it's not a problem. It's something that motivates me, but I repeat, my mood doesn't change after a defeat or after a victory. Life doesn't change. You have to look to the next match."
And if nothing has changed for Mourinho, nothing changes for Inter either. "Winning a single match in the Champions League can't change things. We have only won a match - nothing extraordinary. It was a historic, almost epic match, but we have only won three points and we can't even say we have qualified. I don't understand this euphoric state.
"The worst defeats come after a spectacular victory. Inter's against Dynamo Kiev was just that, but we have to keep on winning now. Nothing happened in Kiev and now we have to show tomorrow that we have the mentality of a great team, a team that never tires, is always physically and psychologically prepared, doesn't need to rest, and wants to win, always."
