Inzaghi: "Focused on ourselves and this game against Udinese"

MILAN - Simone Inzaghi sat down to take questions from the media on Saturday afternoon ahead of Inter's visit to Udinese on Sunday. This is what he had to say...

It's only been two days since your trip to Bologna and tomorrow you play in Udine. How have you prepared for this one?

“We've prepared for it in two and a half days but that's the normal timeframe when you're a big club. We've been playing virtually non-stop since the start of the season so it's nothing out of the ordinary."

How is Samir Handanovic? Will he be able to play tomorrow?

“Handanovic has quite a serious problem that prevented him from playing against Bologna. This morning he trained separately from the team and there's some hope he could make it for tomorrow. We'll see how he is when we do the muscle activation tomorrow morning. If he doesn't make it, we have [Ionut] Radu and [Alex] Cordaz if we need them.”

The other day Giuseppe Marotta said, “We're angry but we've only lost one battle.” Do you sense the desire within the team to keep fighting till the end?

“Obviously the mood in the camp wasn't good after the match but the players have shown the right spirit since then. I know they want to keep believing till the end. Every match is difficult this season. We have four left plus the Coppa Italia final to play and we'll deal with them one game at a time. We'll see where we are come the end and hopefully we'll be able to give our fans more joy after the Super Cup.”

Since there are no easy games, do you think Milan could drop points and do Inter have what it takes to win their last four and claim the title? 

“Right now I'm thinking of nothing but Udinese, a team who are in great form – they picked up more points than anyone apart from us in April. They have quality, powerful players, We'll need to pay much more attention to our game than anyone else's.” 

Do you know when Alessandro Bastoni will be available again?

“We hope to have him back in time for the Coppa Italia final. He had this problem before the Bologna match which we thought was just a minor strain. It's a bit more than that but the physios and doctors are working to get him ready for the final against Juventus.”

With hindsight, do you think it might have helped Radu to play more games this season?

“Radu has always trained well. He's very professional and is well-liked by everyone. I don't believe in alternating goalkeepers because I think it's a position where there needs to be a clear pecking order and Handanovic has always done well. Radu has always looked reliable in training and in the cup game he played so I didn't think it was necessary to give him more matches.”