APPIANO GENTILE – During his press conference Andrea Stramaccioni spoke about the chat he had with Cesare Prandelli when the Italy coach visited Inter in Appiano Gentile yesterday. A positive meeting, after which Prandelli admitted he had seen a lot of enthusiasm amidst the Nerazzurri ranks and partly thanks to Stramaccioni. The Inter coach wished to thank Prandelli for his words of encouragement: "He told me to keep being myself and putting my own ideas on the pitch. It was nice to hear something like that coming from the Italy coach and a person who doesn't know me. It was a good piece of advice and it was also motivating."
Motivation that Stramaccioni certainly wasn't lacking before but which – if possible – he now has even more of. Motivation that inspires the Inter coach to be even more determined, along with his team, and not give up the chase, as Stramaccioni himself explained when asked specifically about getting third place: "We're working with the idea of trying to get there, and if we want to do that we have to win. We want it and we'll keep trying until the end, but that's why we're talking about one match at a time. If and when it becomes mathematically impossible, then we'll talk about it."
One of the areas that needs improving is the number of goals conceded: "Starting from myself and right down to the last player, we obviously all need to do better: we know we must do better and that includes cutting down on the number of goals we're letting in. We've conceded six goals in two games and five of them have come from set pieces. We must improve; there can be no excuses."Stramaccioni is looking for no excuses for the team or for himself, and nor does he seem too worried about drawing a lot of attention on himself: "I'm still a simple lad who just wants to contribute to what goes on out on the pitch. What I know and all that matters to me is the signs that the team are giving me, the strength they are showing in responding. I keep my distance from everything else. I'm the Inter coach and I can feel that; it's natural that I should draw the team's attention. As for judgements about myself and my work, I don't think I should have been considered a phenomenon if we had scored a late winner against Cagliari, nor that I should be considered useless for drawing. The truth lies somewhere in between. I haven't changed the way I am. Every coach has to follow his own theories. If I changed the way I am, I would lose my qualities. I have to follow my own ideas – that's what got me here. I have my theories and that's what I try to project onto the pitch."
