Pioli: "We needed to play more like a team"

MILAN – Stefano Pioli accepted his side had not been good enough as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Sampdoria on Monday night.

The Nerazzurri coach also admitted that Inter need to do more to ensure their campaign can be seen as a success.

"If the league finished tonight it definitely wouldn’t be a good season for us, but it’s not over yet," said Pioli after the final whistle. "We were impatient and got nervous, which meant we were vulnerable to Sampdoria’s counter-attacks. We paid the price – we have to stick together as a team more in these delicate moments during matches."

The Inter fans showed their displeasure at the final whistle, but Pioli had no complaints with the reaction.

"It’s to be expected when you don’t win," he said. "Sampdoria did well in the first half to withstand our attacks and then they made it difficult for us after the break. We needed to play as a team more when the match went against us. We want to get back to playing as a collective – that’s the only way to secure the results we want."

Pioli also refused to blame individual players for the result.

"The team performance doesn’t depend on individual players,” said the Nerazzurri coach. "If you use up too much energy playing as individuals you’re never going to win. We showed heart and desire but if that’s not backed up with accuracy then you risk results like this one. It’s a shame because we started the game well and showed that we could do well if we kept it tight. As I say, we started well, but after a while we lost our balance and positioning."

Pioli went on to shrug off questions about his future following the blow.

"I’m just focusing on getting the best out of the team and trying to improve our league standing, because if we finish where we are now then nobody will be happy. We’re disappointed but we have to use this to motivate us for our upcoming matches," he said.