MILAN - Massimo Moratti answered questions from journalists outside the Saras offices this evening.
President, regarding the transfer market and the rebuilding that you're waiting for partners for...
"That's your theory."
So can we say that to achieve your transfer targets you'll have to sell a big name or two?
"That depends on how you plan your transfer strategy. If you want to base it on promising youngsters and finish a team we only saw half of this season because lots of them got injured. You can afford to wait and see if the opportunity for a good deal arises, but otherwise I think the squad we have available, in terms of the main players, is the core of the team."
At the moment it seems the strategy is to go for more youngsters, prospects like Kovacic, as Javier Zanetti was saying last night.
"That wouldn't be bad [smiling]."
Yesterday Luisito Suarez said that lots of Grande Inter players who were scouts have been relieved of their duties. Can you confirm that?
"That's got absolutely nothing to do with it. No. I don't think so, they've been with Inter for 30 years and to be honest, it's nothing to do with all this. Lots work with Inter, I'm fond of them and I think they do their jobs well."
What do you have to say to people who claim you've got a 'full stomach' after all the trophies you've won in recent years? Do you have the desire to take Inter back to the forefront?
"I don't know who says that. Looking at me you wouldn't say I've got a full stomach [smiling]. I'm never full even when we've won, if I'm honest. I've always looked to the next day. Even when you're happy, the real problem is what you have to do tomorrow, and now it's what we have to do today and tomorrow. So I'm not 'full' at all, I'm concerned about doing things that are long-lasting and produce results."
Speaking of tomorrow, the coaches since José Mourinho haven't done well...
"Some of them have done well. You can't put them all in the same basket."
But can we say that your decision to stick with Stramaccioni is because you believe others are responsible?
"I'll repeat something that I feel is all too apparent but that is my view: we've had too many injuries to be able to make a clear, simple, easy judgement on the coach."
Speaking of tomorrow, the coaches since José Mourinho haven't done well....
"Some of them have done well. You can't put them all in the same basket."
But can we say that your decision to stick with Stramaccioni is because you believe others are responsible?
"I'll repeat something that I feel is all too apparent but it's my opinion: we've had too many injuries to be able to make a clear, simple, easy judgement about the coach. We've lost so many games that it would be easy to judge him negatively and perhaps blame it on inexperience. All these injuries have given him such a difficult context to work in that it's hard to give a negative evaluation."
The difference with other years is that you've already completed five signings. Is there any chance you might have the final squad in place in time for the start of pre-season?
"You always hope to complete your transfer business, both ins and outs, before setting off for your summer training camp but that's not easy because the transfer window stays open until the end of August. I always see lots of big signings happening towards the end of August. For our part, we clearly do our best to give the coach and his staff a team that is ready for the off."
Do you plan to keep hold of sought-after players like Samir Handanovic and Fredy Guarin, and build the team around them?
"Yes. They are key players for us, Handanovic in particular. Guarin is key in terms of potential. You get the impression he could develop into one of the best players around, but he needs to be consistent. As I said though, it's so hard to consider everything together that it's hard to give any negative assessments. In any case I think Guarin is one of the most promising players we have."
Is the high number of injuries down to bad luck or are you looking at the causes that have created this situation?
"That's quite normal. You can get bad luck but not to this extent. All injuries are down to a combination of factors. That's what I'm trying to work out. If it is just bad luck, so much the better. It means they've all done their jobs well."
Rumours are circulating about Mazzarri, could he possibly coach Inter?
"I'm not considering any such possibility because we're thinking about our own coach and I don't want to consider other possibilities."
