Inter boss Antonio Conte has warned anyone struggling with his demands that “I can’t change and won’t change.”
Inter face Borussia Dortmund tomorrow evening, desperately in need of a win after picking up a draw and a defeat in their first two Champions League games.
“To talk about this as already a Final seems exaggerated,” Conte said at a Press conference.
“It’s certainly an important game against a strong team, but it’s still just a game. We need to win, but Finals arrive later…
Inter boss Antonio Conte has warned anyone struggling with his demands that “I can’t change and won’t change.”
Inter face Borussia Dortmund tomorrow evening, desperately in need of a win after picking up a draw and a defeat in their first two Champions League games.
“To talk about this as already a Final seems exaggerated,” Conte said at a Press conference.
“It’s certainly an important game against a strong team, but it’s still just a game. We need to win, but Finals arrive later…
“There’s a need to pick up an important result in every game, so our approach won’t change tomorrow, not even our idea or mentality.
“Just like I don’t talk about my own, I won’t talk about our opponents either, otherwise the glass is always half full for the others…
“We prefer to think about ourselves: we conceded three goals against Sassuolo through the balls we lost.
“We must be careful against Borussia because they’re very good on the break. We know this, but we want to play our football too.
“I don’t go back, this is my idea of football. Going backwards would mean standing in a line behind the ball and waiting to be slapped.
“We want to slap them instead. I can’t change, whether it’s for Lazaro, Godin or anyone else.
“I don’t know if repeating how we played against Barcelona will be enough here, although I certainly want to see consistency in our performance, having no regrets at the end of the game. I’d hate it if we did.
“This is a very difficult tournament, we don’t have much experience in it and we’re only starting out.
“There’s not much time to prepare the games, we need to delve deeper and brush up on all the concepts.
“However, if we say that our defence is having problems, we’re also looking at that with the glass half full. Our attack, in terms of goals, is only inferior to Atalanta.
“Until 2-4, our performance against Sassuolo had been our most complete to date. Then something happened, which the players know about. They’re the first to be disappointed.”
The Coach then commented on the fortunes of in-form hitmen Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, as well as new signings Valentino Lazaro and Diego Godin.
“It’s easy to go from talking about a crisis to celebrating his partnership with Lautaro. I need balance and I’m working on it.
“As for Lautaro: he has to work, that’s it. You shouldn’t think goals are everything for a striker: I don’t see it that way and he knows it.
“He’s becoming a complete striker, now it’s up to him to decide what fate he wants, if he wants to be a top player or not.
“As for Lazaro, he can’t play close to the striker through the middle in a 3-4-2-1. We signed him to play out wide in a 3-5-2, which is where he also played for Hertha.
“He’s young and he comes from a midtable team, so we have to take into account that he can encounter difficulties. I have to work with him, I have to improve him.
“Candreva’s a lad you have to work on, he always needs to feel valued. I already knew him, I coached him with the national team and he can give me even more.
“For Godin, his way of playing has changed, not only in terms of formation but how he reads his position.
“We defend further forward, with 50 metres of the pitch behind us. I won’t change my ideas.”