APPIANO GENTILE – Roberto Mancini has urged his men to maintain their fine recent form when they host Fiorentina at the Stadio Meazza tomorrow, after five games and four wins in a three-week spell.
The coach opened his pre-match conference by admitting: "It will be a bit of a strange game tomorrow because it comes at the end of a hectic period. We'll try to cut out the mistakes that we're still making."
He went on to bestow praise on Vincenzo Montella and the brand of football offered up by his side. "Fiorentina play some lovely football whereas I think we need a bit more time and a bit more quality. Montella has given his team a very attacking mentality and I also think he's got his defence sorted out."
The coach was asked about Erick Thohir, with it suggested that the president seems to be smiling a lot recently. Mancini replied: "We're all happier when we're winning! The president and I are speaking together about the future."
There followed a series of questions about specific players and situations.
Mancini said: "Centre-backs need to be brave enough to stick a foot in and understand what might happen before it actually occurs.
"Players like Shaqiri are young and they often have a fast recovery time. Sometimes they need to be playing regularly. Santon is another youngster who recovers quickly, but when the games start to stack up it gets harder.
"Kovacic doesn't need to prove anything; he just has to focus on playing football.
"What do I expect from Podolski? I hope he scores soon.
"As for Guarin, he hasn't just burst onto the scene, he's been well established for a while now. I don't know why he was less consistent in previous years. He's a quality player who's turning it on for us at the moment. I hope he can keep producing similar performances and if he chips in with goals too then so much the better. He's settled."
Quizzed about Vidic and Palacio, the coach went on: "We'll see tomorrow, there's plenty of time to assess things. All the players looked pretty good yesterday."
Finally, Mancini was asked about future signings ("We'll see what happens and what opportunities come up") and whether he would prioritise the Europa League over Serie A, replying that "It's too early for that sort of talk."
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LIVE! CONFERENZA STAMPA ROBERTO MANCINI PRIMA DI INTER-FIORENTINA 28.2.2015 15:30CET
