CATANIA – Walter Mazzarri was interviewed by Sky Italia after the game. "I'm satisfied but we must keep improving. We're still making mistakes in possession. We need to be more clinical at times too. We have to keep growing if we want to stay in the mix at the top.
"Jonathan and Nagatomo did well, they've come on a lot. The whole team is on the up in general. They were still feeling the psychological effects of last year – you should have seen how tense they were before Cittadella. Now we're gaining in confidence, winning games always helps in that respect."
What are Inter's targets? "The target we've set ourselves is to do what we've done so far, which is to prepare for each match as best as possible and improve with every game. We'll see at the end where it's taken us."
Mazzarri was also asked about Mateo Kovacic, after the midfielder was forced off at the end of the first half: "I don't know how serious his injury is. We'll run some tests on him tomorrow but I don't think it's that bad."
The coach continued his analysis with Mediaset, with the journalist reminding him that Inter have now won all three games without conceding a single goal. "There are a couple of lads in particular that I didn't expect to see this much improvement from. We must be careful not to make silly mistakes.
"People expect Inter to be a match for Juve already? We do our homework properly for every game regardless of the opposition. I felt it was important for these lads to get rid of some of their bad memories from the past. Inter need that.
"Am I happy with Alvarez and Jonathan? I'm happy when I see my players improving. People who know me know I don't like talking about individuals.
"Does the change of ownership occupy the team's thoughts? I've always believed that everyone has a job to do and they have to stick to it. If and when something is announced, we'll take note.
"Is this the team we'd planned at the start of the transfer window? I had a squad of players to assess and improve and I think they are improving. I've never been the sort of coach who demands this or that player.
"Conte said Juventus have been weakened? All I'm thinking about is the fact that at least ten of my players will be going away on international duty. What if Juventus asked to have the match brought forward to Friday? That would be absurd. I'd have to do without those players. It would distort the season and also make for a less enjoyable game."
Later Mazzarri spoke to Rai Sport: "There were some things I liked and others I liked less. We're still making a few mistakes but considering the time we've had to work together I'm satisfied. We worked the ball around well? If you ask my players they'll tell you I always like to keep hold of the ball. Sometimes my football gets pigeon-holed. When you have players with one set of characteristics you try to get certain things out of them, with different characteristics you try to obtain different things.
"How do I manage to get the best out of my players? I try to create the circumstances for them to do the best they can based on what I believe in. I told Jonathan that he'd find himself in one on one situations and that he should show no fear.
"Is 3-5-1-1 our basic formation? At the moment we need everything to sink in and become automatic. Afterwards, like at Napoli, I might change things, but I'll only do that when the team is ready to take new things ideas on board."
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