APPIANO GENTILE – A week on from last Saturday's crunch encounter with Juventus, Inter find themselves up against Serie A newcomers Sassuolo. During his pre-match press conference, Walter Mazzarri was asked how he keeps his players on their toes in situations like this to ensure they avoid a potential pitfall.
The coach replied: "I knew what we had to do this week. We came in on Tuesday and looked at the mistakes we made and where we can improve. Then I told the players to forget what we'd done against Juve. I explained that Sassuolo have got less than they deserved in these opening games, that they're an organised side and highly motivated. If we do what we're supposed to do, if we're determined and focused, we can get a good result against Sassuolo. All the teams in Serie A are good, but we're ready. There are no easy matches in this league. When you're under pressure to win games because you're a big club, that's when you see if you've moved up a level."
The coach was asked if he'd enjoyed being on the receiving end of praise following the team's performance against Juventus last weekend: "I think you're always in the spotlight in this job. It was nice to see I have the fans on my side because when I get involved in something I give everything I have. When it comes off, thanks to the work of the players, it's nice to gain recognition for it."
Mazzarri also spoke about the fitness of Diego Milito and Walter Samuel: "Milito is looking much better, more agile. I have to see how many minutes he's got in him but he's on the right path. The only thing is that we mustn't rush him. Samuel is fine, he's recovered now and is back in training. He's available for selection although he's obviously not up to match speed yet. I have six players to choose from at the back and I'll pick them depending on what I think of the opposition and how the players look during the week."
With three games to play over the next eight days, reporters wanted to know what sort of rotation the coach is considering. "That's something you weigh up based on experience. I think when you have a run of three matches like this you should play the first without considering the other two. Then, after the first one, you can look at whether you need to freshen things up or make changes. That's something I'll assess on Monday."
Asked whether he'd been impressed by Napoli's showing in the Champions League, Mazzarri replied: "I'm impressed by what Inter are doing."
Finally, there was a question about the closure of the Curva Nord for the forthcoming home match against Fiorentina. "I dislike getting into things like that, but from what I could hear on the pitch it didn't seem all that bad to me. I prefer not to pass judgement though. We should let the appropriate people deal with it."
