APPIANO GENTILE – Roberto Mancini says his main fear going into tomorrow's match against Carpi is not so much all the transfer talk swirling around the club but the fact that some people might underestimate tomorrow's opponents after the first round of fixtures.
Fabrizio Castori's side were on the receiving end of a five-goal bashing from Sampdoria last weekend but the Nerazzurri coach insists little should be read into that first game.
And with the transfer window set to slam shut on Monday, a further problem is that much of the focus is on who might be joining who.
Speaking to journalists at a news conference the day before the Nerazzurri visit Carpi in Week 2 of Serie A, Mancini stressed: "I don't want to talk about the transfer market now. Our focus is entirely focused on tomorrow's match.
"If we want to beat Carpi, Inter will have to be playing at 200%. This is their first home game in Serie A and they'll be pulling all the stops out. We mustn't look at their defeat in Genoa. It doesn't tell you much because the contest was over after half an hour. It was just one of those days where everything goes wrong for you.
"All I'm worried about is that we're playing a match everyone thinks is going to be easy. There are no easy games in football, especially in Serie A. We have to turn in an exceptional performance and give everything we've got. Every game is tough and tight at the start of the season because all the teams are highly focused. We have to be at the top of our game."
The coach then fielded questions on individual players, starting with last season's joint topscorer Mauro Icardi, who was forced off in the first half of Inter's opening-day win over Atalanta.
"I'm definitely not going to risk Icardi," Mancini explained.
"In midfield we have guys like Hernanes and Guarin who are coming back and hopefully we'll have Brozovic available again tomorrow too. This is the squad we have to work with at the moment and we want another good result like last Sunday."
The manager then added: "I always want to win but we also need to be able to overcome any difficult spells. Tough times help build great teams."
Asked if there is perhaps too much pressure on the Milan clubs, he concluded: "This is Italy for you. We've got even worse in that respect because now you even have pressure in friendlies."
