MILAN - Walter Mazzarri spoke to Sky Italia after the win over Fiorentina. This is what he had to say:
"You could see that their goal knocked us back a bit, but after five minutes we pulled ourselves together again and showed a reaction. Did I get offended by Montella saying Inter can win the title with the players we have? Fiorentina can win the title. If Montella talks about my players, I can talk about his too. He meant it as a compliment? So do I.
"Guarin's reaction? When the lads are caught up in the heat of the match they make mistakes sometimes. We should try not to boo the players because it affects them, even though it's part of the game.
"Fiorentina's clear-cut chances, except on two occasions, came about from mistakes we made. We needed to exploit our counter-attacks better. Did I want my team to sit higher up? We did try to press them high. Perhaps we needed a bit more courage to go and chase them but Fiorentina have some very skilful players who are good on the ball. I'm extremely satisfied with the way the players are learning my methods but there are clearly still things we need to improve. We needed to stretch ourselves a bit more, but maybe that's got something to with playing three games in a week.
"Alvarez? He's similar to Hamsik in many ways and can be a really big player if he keeps it up. Alvarez and Jonathan look like totally different players? Great for us, I'm really pleased. I've always thanked the people who have helped me do my job properly - that's why I always thank my players.
"Guarin? He needs to keep calm and not let himself be affected by what's going on around him."
The Nerazzurri coach later spoke to Mediaset, who asked him: Considering what Fiorentina did last term, the reinforcements they've brought in and the way they're playing now, can they challenge other clubs with bigger wage bills for the title? Mazzarri replied: "That's too complicated a question to get into here. I'll explain to Montella how you work out the economics of a club's wage bill.
"The fans are demanding? This is my first year but I've always known the Meazza faithful demand the best. We must be strong, keep playing and growing. Today we were without an important section of our fans, who might have been able to drown out those boos. Fortunately they'll be back with us for the next game.
"Can my Inter be likened to Mourinho's? He's a great coach but he has his own brand of football and I have mine. Perhaps there are some similarities in the battling qualities of our teams. We're at a different point of Inter history now.
"It's easy for our rivals to say we have Scudetto credentials. I said I wanted to see a competitive team again; others probably see that the Inter of old is back. Time will tell. Lots of other teams have been together for a while, have strengthened and can do well."
Finally, Rai Sport asked Mazzarri what he has done to get the team working so hard. "By giving the lads some basic principles which they've completely bought into.
"I haven't complained about the club not signing any superstar names? You guys are the ones giving the praise. I just think that given the way we're all grafting we deserve the good results.
"Level with Napoli in the table? Ask me about Inter please."
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INTERVISTA WALTER MAZZARRI POST INTER-FIORENTINA
