MONTECATINI - Walter Mazzarri spoke to reporters in Montecatini, where he received the Maestrelli coach of the year award.
"I'm never satisfied with myself. I thank the people who decided to give me this wonderful and important prize because it repays me for all the sacrifices I make in my work. I'm happy because we did a fantastic job at Napoli and now we're doing very well at Inter too."
When it was put to Mazzarri that he will probably look to trim his squad in January, the coach explained: "It's not that I'm always looking to trim the squad; when it's appropriate it's good for the club too. We'll see what needs doing. I'll speak with the sporting directors – we still have a bit of time to look at things. I still need to get to know all my players properly, there are things to assess."
On Erick Thohir and the president's words of praise for him: "It's really nice. We all know how it works in this world: when a new owner comes in, he might have completely different ideas to his predecessor, but that wasn't so in this case. It means the work that my team and I do is appreciated even in Indonesia, abroad, and if it's the owner himself who says certain things then it's very satisfying indeed."
Just a few months after Mazzarri joined Inter, the team already looks as if it's been moulded by his hands. "When you do the job I do," the coach explained, "you always hope for that. From day one I start working on the team, on my ideas, on the lads I have available to me and I always hope that they start following me as quickly as possible. It hasn't been easy but I'm pleased with the improvement - which I'd describe as stratospheric - because I think Inter have already shown some great football this season."
