APPIANO GENTILE – Roberto Mancini spoke to the assembled media in Appiano Gentile this afternoon on the eve of tomorrow's game against Udinese.
The Nerazzurri head coach picked up on president Erick Thohir's comment that Inter were a team of fighters: "Any team that is going for victory must be able to fight. Even if you've got technically superb footballers, if you don't know how to fight you cannot win. Any great line-up must have this quality.
"Every side sets itself the objective of winning and we hope to pick up another three points tomorrow," Mancini continued. "Our aim for the season is to get back into the Champions League."
Just like in the build-up to Inter v Genoa, the Nerazzurri boss revealed part of his starting XI for the Udinese match: "Samir Handanovic, Miranda, Jeison Murillo, Adem Ljajic, Alex Telles and Ivan Perisic are all definites. The remaining spots are still to be decided."
Mancini also had a few words on his policy of squad rotation. "We have more options compared to the start of the season. Perisic wasn't selected a couple of times when we switched to a new formation. Fredy Guarin is an important player for us and we have no intention of letting him go. Mauro Icardi has started pretty much every game – 13 out of 15 – so I don't see the problem. Being asked to sit on the bench can happen to him just like anyone else in the side. He will be our top goalscorer come the end of the season."
There was also a question on tomorrow's opposition: "Udinese have quality, experienced players and their coach is just the same. We need to put in a great performance. The head-to-head clashes featuring the teams just behind us don't mean as much because the league table can change from week to week."
The January transfer window is fast approaching and the rumour mill is starting to throw up names: "If things continue as they are, we don't need anyone. Some opportunities might come around and you never know. Jonathan Calleri has bags of quality. I don't know if we can bring him to Inter, but we've had our eyes on him for a while."
Finally, there was a comment reserved for Handanovic, who has the highest percentage of saves across all major European leagues in 2015/16: "Goalkeepers are like strikers: if they make an error they concede a goal, while if strikers miss a chance it immediately jumps out at you. All players make mistakes, but with some positions you notice it less. With goalies and strikers, the mistakes are immediately seized upon. Samir has remained a top keeper even though he may have let a few slip through."
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