Conte: “We want to achieve the maximum, I have faith in my players”

APPIANO GENTILE - After the trip to Parma which ended in victory, Inter are preparing to return to the pitch right away for matchday 29 in Serie A. Their next fixture sees them up against Diego Lopez’s Brescia at San Siro, kick-off for the game coming at 19:30 CEST on Wednesday night. The day before the game, Antonio Conte gave his exclusive pre-match thoughts to Inter TV: “There’s been so little time to prepare for the game against Brescia, but we know what the goal is: put in a good performance and look to achieve the maximum, so all three points. We know that it’s a mini tournament and we need to get the win.”

The Nerazzurri go again after a thrilling comeback at the Tardini: “Conceding an equaliser at home to Sassuolo in the 90th minute could have been a blow psychologically, but we faced a team in great form in Parma and I’m pleased with the performance, especially the second half and the reaction the boys showed. We conceded an avoidable goal but at the same time we did so well to stay in the game, keeping up the fight and winning the game and a huge three points at the end against a team with great values.”

Inter boast 16 different scorers in Serie A this season, more than any other side: “There have been so many positives, it all depends on whether you want to see the glass half full or half empty. We just have to continue on our way, continue working and improving, in the knowledge that all the others have a lot of respect for us in our encounters.”

With the heightened pace of the league in this period, changes and rotations are becoming even more important: “Playing games so close together at these temperatures, it’s only normal that the energy levels start to dwindle, especially at the end of games. Substitutions are so important, and with five players able to come off the bench you have the chance to inject fresh energy into a game and give a bit more life to your play. We were also without Skriniar against Parma due to his suspension. Playing every three to four days you’re forced into rotations, at times in order to avoid injuries. In the game against Sassuolo we decided not to risk Nicolò Barella as he was feeling a bit tired. These are new situations that we need to face head-on with a lot of faith in all of our players. They’re all training well and they know what they have to do on the pitch, so it’s only right to make rotations. The important thing is that the results don’t change along with our line-ups, we have to keep on winning. We’re now getting over the absences in midfield, Brozovic and Vecino are very nearly back, but we’ll need a bit more patience for Stefano Sensi. The players know that every game, there’s a starting eleven and then players who come on, especially in positions where there’s a lot of running. We need to find alternatives with games every three days, rotating things both mid-game and between games. Whoever comes on will always give their all, just like those who start the game. Sometimes they manage to be decisive, sometimes maybe less so, but I hope that from now until the end of the season both the starting eleven and whoever comes on will always give 100%.”

Inter’s opponents at San Siro on Wednesday will be a Brescia side in pursuit of points: “I’m expecting Brescia to arrive at San Siro in search of a result, because they need points from wherever they go. Because of this, we’ll have to be very careful, but at the same time we too are hungry for points and have a desire to win.”

Finally, a word on Coach Stellini, who led the team from the technical area for the game against Parma: “It was a great debut for Stellini, I’m very happy with my coaching staff, both with the work they’re doing and the relationships they’ve formed with the players. I was very calm from that point of view.”