MILAN - Andrea Stramaccioni spoke to Rai Sport after Inter's exit from the Coppa Italia at the semi-final stage. "All I can do is congratulate my players. They gave it everything they had, played an excellent first half and had the chance to grab a second goal. Then Roma came into the game as we faded. A shame to concede the equaliser with our defence in position, from the first and only ball we lost on the break. Today we had Juan Jesus back but we lost Cambiasso. As I said, there's nothing I can do but congratulate my lads, just as I congratulate Roma. I don't think we could have given any more and it's great to see that our fans understood that and were behind us until the end. This team showed what it's capable of when we had a full complement of players."
The coach was then quizzed about his future: "I don't want to talk about myself but my players, who keep giving their all," he replied, before going on to explain his team selection: "We decided to try and keep possession then hit them with runs from deep, given the state we found ourselves in. With more attacking outlets, we could have done something different."
In his press conference, the coach added: "I've often stuck my neck on the line because I'm the coach and it's right that I should do that. I have no problem working for the club and the president, defending them even if it means exposing myself. I'll always do that and those who know me know that. My lads leave with their heads held high after losing to a quality side. I don't have the slightest doubt that my players will give 100% for the rest of the season, the problem is how to manage the resources. Mentally we're still in it. The president and the club are working to ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated and it's my job to talk about the team. We'll try to give the best of ourselves, perhaps I'll keep putting out the Primavera lads. I've never shied away and I'm not going to now. I'll give everything I have for these colours from now till 30 June, then the president will tell me what's going to happen in the future."The coach then continued his analysis and was asked if he should have tried to defend the result with the score at 1-0. "The only way to do that would have been to take off Rocchi or Alvarez. And I think it was too early to shut up shop completely not having any other strikers. My regret is that we conceded a goal from the first ball we gave away. I think after they equalised Roma deserved to go through overall. It's a shame though because Inter used everything, and I mean everything, they had. The most pleasing thing of all was seeing the crowd's appreciation and the fact they never stopped supporting us.
"Do I feel abandoned by the club? I've never had that problem. I've often put my neck on the line, as I said, and that's right because I'm the coach and I have no problem doing that for this club. And I'll keep doing that for as long as I'm the coach of Inter.
"How will I deal with the coming games? I have no doubt whatsoever that my players will give everything until the end. The problem of course is how you manage the players. I think the president and the club are working to make Inter better but it's my job to talk about what happens on the pitch."
