Roberto Mancini prepares to face his old teammate Simone Inzaghi at Lazio and insists Inter “have not had a negative season.”

It kicks off on Sunday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), click here for a match preview.

“I just want to praise Crotone as a beautiful thing for football, making their way into Serie A for the first time,” said the Coach in his Press conference.

Roberto Mancini prepares to face his old teammate Simone Inzaghi at Lazio and insists Inter “have not had a negative season.”

It kicks off on Sunday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), click here for a match preview.

“I just want to praise Crotone as a beautiful thing for football, making their way into Serie A for the first time,” said the Coach in his Press conference.

“I also compliment Inzaghi, who will be on the Lazio bench tomorrow, as he was my teammate and my player, now my opponent.

“Now we must try to confirm our form with a good game. Lazio are a good side, they have a new Coach and will therefore try to give more.

“All the players, as I’ve always said, gave their all from the first day to the last. No player held back or worked less. I have no complaints on that score.

“The next three games will therefore not serve to confirm players. We’ll see perhaps if it’s over for third place and if not then we’ll give it a go to the final round.

“Regrets? Let’s wait for tomorrow, then we’ll see. We never stepped on to the field not looking for points. This is football, it doesn’t always go the way you want.

“We are working to improve the squad and that goes through occasional disappointments. What I will say is that this has certainly not been a disastrous campaign for Inter, no matter what the media might claim.

“We are still challenging for third place, we had an excellent opening 20 rounds, then dropped points during a physiological dip in form, but it has been a fine season. I want the fans to realise that.

“I always said that at the start of the season Fiorentina were in a superior position to Inter too, as they were more consolidated as a team.

“A side that has been playing together for two or three years naturally has an advantage over a team that changed eight or nine players.

“I am very demanding and I had hoped to give Inter the Champions League stage they deserved. Of course, I also have to evaluate other issues and therefore I conclude it has not been a negative campaign.

Juventus are the strongest side, as Inter were for many years, otherwise they wouldn’t have won five titles in a row. They were smart to plan ahead and build their own stadium, which brings in many points and extra cash every season. They have the advantage over the other teams in Italy, that is for sure.”

Atletico Madrid reached the Champions League semi-final despite a style of football some have called negative. Is their approach similar to that of Inter?

“Atletico Madrid had excellent results and over the last three or four years invested heavily too. They won the Liga, which isn’t each with Barcelona and Real Madrid, and reached the Champions League Final.

“Atletico have always been a solid side and I compliment Diego Simeone on what he has achieved.”

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