APPIANO GENTILE - Roberto Mancini has called on the Nerazzurri fans to continue filling the Meazza and help drive the team onto further victories.
Speaking in a news conference the day before Inter's Sunday night encounter with Frosinone in San Siro, the manager stressed just how important a role the fans have played in his team's success this season. "There are lots of games left to go and hopefully our supporters will keep coming to San Siro in their droves. They're very important for us," Mancini said.
He went on to speak about the very serious threat posed by Roberto Stellone's side: "This sort of game is never easy for anyone, especially as Frosinone are having a great season. I don't think it will be straightforward by any means. Besides anything else, there are no easy games nowadays."
The question of whether Mauro Icardi and Stevan Jovetic will play together tomorrow was raised. Mancini explained: "Icardi and Jovetic need to play together more so they can get to know each other better. They haven't been playing together for long but they have huge potential for improvement. We expect goals from both of them. I can't tell you if they'll play together tomorrow though."
Asked to reveal his starting line-up in the wake of his counterpart Stellone doing so, the coach replied: "I'll give you a few names: Handanovic, Kondogbia, Nagatomo and Felipe Melo."
With much being made of Inter's frequent change of formation and players in recent weeks, the boss commented: "There are various reasons why we might change playing system. Our international players have only just come back and so far we've given everyone a chance. The only one who hasn't played is Montoya and I'm really sorry about that. I hope to be able to give him some playing time."
The Nerazzurri head into tomorrow's match on the back of three straight league wins. Reflecting on those games, Mancini said: "Roma and Torino were both incredibly tough. I'd like to see us always play the way we did in the first half against Torino – we were very solid."
The manager knows Inter are far from the finished article. "We need to keep working on our weaknesses," he stressed. "There are a couple of tactical aspects we must improve on. We're not there yet. We have to try and score more goals but otherwise the team is pretty solid. If we can improve those two or three things we have a chance of staying up there in the mix until the end."
There was also a question about Cesena midfielder Stefano Sensi. "I went to watch see him play because I was at home and I was curious. He's a quality player but he's still young and needs to grow. I liked him a lot though."
On Inter's run of 1-0 wins: "There have been other teams who won games by the same scoreline, Atletico Madrid a couple of years ago, for example, although they might have scored a few more. That's what we want to do too and it's what we're working towards. We want to improve in that. Defensive solidity is important too, though."
On the subject of defence, could players like Andrea Ranocchia and Nemanja Vidic soon be leaving the club? "These are the guys we have at the moment and unless something happens – like someone wanting to leave because they can't see themselves playing – I hope we stay as we are," Mancini concluded.
