Marotta: "I trust in the team's ability to react"

MILAN – Inter’s CEO for Sport Giuseppe Marotta spoke to Sky Sports and gave his thoughts on how the team are doing right now and recent results:

"In sport it’s to be expected that you have to suffer sometimes. We’re finding things tough going right now, that’s true, but we need to find the strength to bounce back. Hard work is the key and this needs to be combined with faith in our approach and knowing how well we’ve done up until now. We’re in a good position in the league and we’ve got a game in hand, and in January we won the Italian Super Cup. What’s more, we’re consistently playing good football and that gives us belief. There are so many reasons to be optimistic.

"We’re not after scapegoats to justify recent results, but we were aware that January and February would be the toughest months of the season. We’ve faced some top-class opposition and at this point we’re aware that we’ll be in with a shout of winning the league right until the end because that’s when the victors will be decided. That’s why we need to work with belief and peace of mind.

"In this regard we can rest easy knowing who we’ve got as coach; Simone Inzaghi works thoroughly and is doing exactly what the club asked of him when he came in last summer. It’s true that we deserved to lose to Sassuolo but we must take stock from that game so that we learn from where we went wrong. We believe in ourselves; we’ve got clear objectives in our sights. We’re the Serie A title holders, we’re defending our crown and we’re aiming to make it 20 league wins to our name.

"Any forward can go through ups and downs. Lautaro Martinez is 25, and he always puts in a tremendous amount of effort. Right now he’s finding it hard in front of goal. The team and club are backing him, and he should soon be back playing as the great player we know he is.

"As for contract renewals, with Marcelo Brozovic we’re fully aware that he wants to stay and that the club wants to keep him. In a matter of days the paperwork for a new deal will be signed. Regarding Ivan Perisic and Samir Handanovic, we’re blessed with the fact that they’re great professionals who, even as their contracts are running down, are going about their business in an admirable way, as is Andrea Ranocchia. That’s one of the best things about this squad. There’s no doubt they deserve new contracts; there’s no rush but they’re fully aware that they’re appreciated.

"Sassuolo are the greatest exponents of youthful promise and unshackled football; they’ve now beaten Inter, Juventus, and Milan. The club put great faith in their youth and there’s no doubt people will be keeping a key eye on who’ll be coming out of their academy."