MILAN - Roberto Mancini was pleased with the team's performance to overcome a potential banana skin in the shape of Cagliari in this evening's Coppa Italia last 16 tie.
"It wasn't easy today," the coach began. "The lads needed to have the right attitude. Until we got the second goal it was tough. Cagliari are an excellent team and they made a really good start to the game before we came into it more. We're happy with the way things are going but the season is still long.
"We laid some good groundwork last year and it's going better now. It takes time to build a great team. We must keep growing and working. There will be hard times to face but we're delighted to be top at Christmas."
Mancini then fielded questions on the individual performances of some of his players.
"Brozovic is young and talented. He has huge margin for improvement and I'm sure he'll develop into a top midfielder.
"I don't know if Montoya will leave in January. He's played and shown he's up to the task. Things can change very quickly in football. He's a good footballer and a good lad. It's up to him if he wants to accept this situation or look somewhere else where he might play more regularly.
“We've often tried D'Ambrosio out at centre-back and he does a great job there.
"Kondogbia was coming back in after injury today but still produced some phenomenal stuff. We need to give him a bit of time."
With the January transfer window looming, there were the inevitable questions about possible signings.
Mancini replied: "The squad is complete. I'm happy because all the lads are performing well and everyone feels involved. I don't think we need to do anything but we do need to consider if there are players who want to move on so they can play more. At the moment there's a very good balance within the squad.
"Calleri is a player we've watched, like lots of others. I don't know if we can do anything. At the moment there's nothing in it."
Finally, the manager commented briefly on the Curva's encouragement: "You get that when things are going well. I'm happy the fans believe in the team.”
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