APPIANO GENTILE - Stefano Vecchi will make his top-flight debut tomorrow as he leads Inter out to face Crotone. The interim coach revealed his emotions ahead of Sunday's game: "I'm very excited to make my bow at San Siro and I hope that can create a buzz and we can relax a little. We want to impress and that's why we're only thinking about tomorrow's match. I'm pleased to have seen that I have got something across to the players in these first few training sessions and the match against Southampton. Clearly you can't make wholesale changes in a few short days. The lads are on board however."
Vecchi admitted he will make changes: "Some of the personnel will be different compared with Thursday night because we have a few more players available. On the other hand, we lose a big player in the shape of Medel, who's suspended. We need to see how the players are that featured in the Europa League game. From a tactical perspective we have two options: we can either consolidate what we've seen so far or change things. What matters most, however, is how the players implement the system."
The Nerazzurri coach was also full of praise for the Serie A newcomers: "Crotone getting promoted into Serie A was a massive achievement. It's a settled club that has success thanks to the ability and calm they convey to the players and coach. They come into the match on the back of some positive performances and results. They've got better in recent weeks, while we're struggling. They come here motivated and in good spirits, so we have to be determined out there and not think about the league table."
Despite plenty of speculation in the media over the coaching vacancy, Vecchi insisted all eyes are on tomorrow evening's fixture: "No one is talking about it because we're all focused on the game. The players have shown they're consummate professionals. They know it's a tricky period but they want to come through it. We gave everything on Thursday night but even big, in-form sides can lose at Southampton. The lads displayed great desire and spirit. There were some further difficulties but we hope to improve against Crotone."
'No regrets' was the watchword as attention turned to the 2-1 defeat at St. Mary's: "I'm always very self-critical but if I look back, all of the decisions and choices I made were correct. The game could have ended differently because we played excellently for an hour but sadly the result went against us. We tried every way we could and the team were up for it."
As ever the media were eager to ask about individual players: "We'll assess what's gone on with Kondogbia later today. He's looked keen and determined to me, as they all have. Felipe Melo can't last 90 minutes but he's a powerful figure who can come in handy at certain stages of a match."
Vecchi dismissed suggestions his side are unfit: "It's hard to play a full match like we did in the first hour at Southampton. It's rare to find teams that can maintain that level of intensity for the full 90 minutes. We were just unable to take the sting out of the contest at times. We should have taken a breather, kept the ball and made the opposition chase us. I hope we can play better from that perspective tomorrow. You can't harry your opponents for 90 minutes, whoever you are."
Finally, the coach appealed to supporters to get down to San Siro tomorrow evening: "I don't expect an awkward atmosphere because I know the Nerazzurri fans love Inter and I believe they'll get behind us. After that it'll be up to the players to give that bit extra to show we deserve the fans' backing. However I'm sure the crowd will cheer us on. It's only right that at a tricky time like this, Inter supporters back the team."
Versión Española 日本語版 Versi Bahasa Indonesia Versione Italiana
