APPIANO GENTILE – Roberto Mancini believes his side are in good shape going into next season, despite missing out on a Champions League spot.
"We have a good foundation now, with five or six definite starters," said Mancini, speaking at his final pre-match press conference of the season on Friday morning. "It’s not hard to now add two or three more quality players with lots of charisma – that’s going to help the team improve further and encourage the other players to get better.
"We’ve surpassed the expectations of the press at the start of the season. I’ve never had a squad of such good lads. They’ve worked hard all year long to fight for our objectives.
"We’re in good company in the Europa League – lots of teams have missed out on the Champions League. There are lots of clubs investing millions of euros to build teams now. Everyone wants to get back there."
There has been speculation about the kind of side Mancini will put out against Sassuolo on Saturday, with the Inter boss even joking he would field an entire team of Primavera players: "It’s important to let the young players play, because we have to analyse whether these youngsters can come up to the first-team squad. They’re quality young players and we need to see how they get on in match situations."
Mancini spoke candidly about the fans’ disappointment at missing out on the Champions League: "No fan is going to be happy when they believe the side can win but they lose. We need to set clear objectives. I always set out determined to aim for the top, but things turn out differently over the course of a season.
"I’ll speak to the president about what we can and should do. The team has a good foundation we can work with to improve this season’s finish.
"We’re not sure what we can do in the transfer market, but we’ve done a good job this season and we were top for a long time. We’ve done some good work and if we keep doing that then I’m sure we’ll be able to enjoy some success. That said, football is a funny old game and anything can happen."
Asked about the future of Stevan Jovetic, Mancini replied: "All players need to show that they’re vital to the team in order to play regularly. Jovetic is a technically gifted player but he’s had to settle in and he’s struggled with a few injury problems too."
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic announcing his departure from PSG at the end of the season, Mancini was asked where he thought the Swede might end up: "I think it’s strange that PSG are letting him leave. I don’t know where he’ll go or what he’ll do, but he’s still a player that can change games."
Mancini also addressed questions about his own future: "I still have a year on my contract. If the club and the fans are happy then I’ll stay, otherwise I’ll stay at home and Inter won’t owe me anything. I have no problem with my contract. But we need to understand the situation – it’s not simple or straight-forward. Simply changing 11 players doesn’t automatically guarantee success. We need to be very clear on that."
Last but not least, Mancini revealed his actual starting eleven for the Sassuolo match: "Carrizo; D'Ambrosio, Jesus, Murillo, Nagatomo or Telles; Kondogbia, Brozovic, Melo or Gnoukouri; Jovetic, Eder and Palacio."
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