MILAN – Walter Mazzarri spoke to the reporters gathered at bookstore Feltrinelli in Milan this evening where he was presenting his book "Il meglio deve ancora venire" (The Best is Yet to Come).
This is what he said:
"We're all under examination? I'm glad the president appreciates our work and I'm grateful to him. I'm always under examination - I put myself under examination from my very first match at Acireale. I'm glad we agree on future plans. In order to plan for the future we must make sure this season ends as positively as possible, since that will also determine how we can plan for the future.
"I've never said I have doubts about my future. We were talking about a potential contract extension and I said we needed to concentrate on the pitch and that for any contract discussions I'd sit down with the club and weigh things up, that's all.
"One result doesn't change your overall assessment of things. The club looks at how the coach works both when the going is easy and when it's tough, the way he's able to take into consideration people who weren't given the right consideration before, if he's been able to develop the young players. Football is about moments, it doesn't always follow logic. Take the second half against Atalanta: we played really well and if we played it again we'd win nine times out of ten, yet here we are reflecting on a defeat. You have to assess everything, including how well people work in a very particular year like this one. I'm sure that the people responsible for assessing things will have clear ideas.
"I don't look at the results of other teams but I am a bit annoyed with how our last game went. You can get situations during the course of a season which mean you might win certain games and be here talking about a different position. We haven't taken all the points that we've deserved on the pitch, but we've improved our mentality, our performances and our team play. I think in the medium to long term this attitude and mentality can help us recreate the sort of winning mentality a club like Inter should have. There is some regret at having thrown away points in some strange games."When I joined Inter I was very much taken by president Moratti and the club's history, I hurled myself head first into this new experience and I'm happy with my choice, I just hope people understand what a particular season this is.
"Our match with Udinese is laden with pitfalls - just like the Atalanta game was. It's tough against certain teams and certain coaches because they're very good and because they know how to make things difficult for you, being able to play for two out of three results. Inter are used to facing games like that. We'll have to be better, and a bit more lucky, at taking the game to them from the off and trying to get an early goal.
"What have I said to the players about the Atalanta match? I've gone over the few mistakes that cost us two goals, spoken about us not getting our approach right in the first half, given that we were then perfect, very bold, in the second half. I'd already dealt with the first-half problems during the interval so I just reiterated the importance of not under-estimating the dangers, because that's the way forward. I found the defeat hard to swallow, and looking at it again with a clear mind it's even worse. But you get games like that in football, now we have to get going again.
"A coach who believes in his work looks at the way this team plays. But hitting the woodwork four times in a single game is incredible. I try to bring football as close to science as possible but it's not an exact science: if the ball doesn't want to go in, it doesn't. Against Atalanta it was like there was a sheet covering the goalmouth. That last chance we had with Nagatomo too, it looked a certain goal but wasn't. The coach can't do anything at that point. Still, the logical thing for us to do was remain alert on the set piece that cost us the game. Those are mistakes. I expect to see a lot more concentration against Udinese. We mustn't give anything away, remain calm and take the right option when we get the chance.
"Would qualifying for the Europa League be like winning the title for us? With 27 points left to play for I don't want to talk about targets: our target is to get as many points on the board as possible. The better we can end this season, the easier it will be for us to get off on the right foot next year.
"Torres, Dzeko or Morata? Any coach would like to have the best there is both in quantity and quality. If a player offers you that, then great.
"I'm controlling myself better in the dugout this year? Too much probably... I work on impulse but with experience I've learnt to let it show less when I'm angry. I'd like the team to keep playing as they have been recently, but getting what they deserve.
"A top player for next season? We'll think about next season when this one ends. People tend to think too much about the future without realising that the present is just as important.
"The four years I spent at Napoli were fantastic, extraordinary. We built a lot but I don't want to get into how Napoli are doing this year.
"My line-up against Udinese? I'll start deciding that from tomorrow. We've seen over the last few games that all the defenders are capable of starting in this team: I'll have to make some choices."
