APPIANO GENTILE - Stefano Pioli conceded that Inter were dealt a psychological blow with their defeat to Sampdoria but backed his players to respond at Crotone on Sunday.
"While the loss against Sampdoria was very disappointing, our season is far from over," began the coach in a news conference at Suning Training Centre in memory of Angelo Moratti. "I expect the team to channel that disappointment into great determination.
"We've been on a great run. The team might have been concerned about the future following our loss at Napoli in the first half of the season and the Be'er Sheva defeat. We then climbed the table, however, and now the team must maintain its belief so we can go from strength to strength.
"Joao Mario has everything a midfielder needs and can operate anywhere across the middle of the park. I've not decided my starting 11 for Sunday yet but I have kept a close eye on training and how my players are looking. As for Brozovic, you can't judge a player on the basis of one mistake.
"We have lots of ability and big players but how we perform off the ball is crucial. We score a lot of goals but we're now conceding too many as well. We analysed our mistakes during the week but we definitely won't be distracted by next Saturday's derby. We go into the match on the back of a bad defeat and, with the timing of the international break, it's nearly a month since we last won. It'd therefore be a big mistake not to consider Sunday's match important.
"We all have to do our best now because we're essentially playing for our future. Now is the time to show that we belong at Inter going forward. We have ability and must show the character and mental strength to bounce back."
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