APPIANO GENTILE – "We respect Stramaccioni; we respect him a lot." Those are the words Walter Samuel had for the new Nerazzurri coach, during an interview for A tu per tu, Inter Channel's pre-matchday programme.
"We have respect for his work and we all want to be successful; we're working together and it's going well. Now I hope we'll start winning tomorrow. Which we can. And then we'll move forward taking things one game at a time. This team deserves to be higher than where we are at the moment," the Argentine defender stressed.
So what changes has Stramaccioni introduced in these last few days? Samuel smiled because it isn't easy to answer such a question after so little time: "A few things have changed in the way we work but it's only been a few days. Let's see how things go tomorrow against Genoa."
And speaking of Genoa, are Palacio and Gilardino to be feared? "They are great players and they're in a good moment of form, but we have to worry about playing well ourselves, not about the others."
Samuel also spoke about his own form: "I feel good and the injury problems are behind me. Playing regularly makes it easier for you to find your best form. I'm trying to keep myself fit and do my best to help the team win. Because winning games is the best thing for confidence and morale. Tomorrow we'll give everything to try and get back on the winning track." And try not concede, "because it's annoying. It's also a question of concentration, on the part of the defenders and the team as a whole. It's always annoying when you let in goals."
Finally, Samuel looked ahead to next year and he made no secret of his desire to carry on playing for the Nerazzurri: "I hope to stay here," he smiled. "I'm very happy here but to be honest at the moment we're thinking about the league, which we want to finish on a high, not about other things."
