APPIANO GENTILE – It was an early start to the day at the Centro Sportivo Angelo Moratti this morning as Inter prepare to face Palermo in tomorrow afternoon’s Serie A encounter. It began in the press room with Andrea Stramaccioni explaining to the gathered journalists – with a smile on his face – the reason for organising an earlier press conference than usual: "We need to save money so instead of lunch you just get free coffee and croissants."
However, the topic quickly turned to tomorrow’s opponents: "With all due respect to Palermo and the high regard I hold Gasperini in, I expect Inter to provide a response tomorrow. I expect us to respond, we have to and we want to start sprinting again, getting points again. The way we approach the game will be important. We must get back to doing what we were doing until about 20 days ago and prove that the last three games were just a moment that happens. With all due respect to the opposition, it’s Inter that matters tomorrow."
The Nerazzurri coach continued: "The week just gone was one of the best we’ve had, maybe the best of all, because there were no midweek games or international fixtures. That means a lot to a coach like myself because if I’m in this job it’s thanks to the work I’ve been able to do on the field. We even managed to fit in two training sessions in one day, we’ve trained really well. Does that include Sneijder? Yes, Wes has trained well like all the others and just like all the others he could be included in the squad for tomorrow. My main decision is the formation though: we have a few doubts, some of the players aren’t in tip-top condition and our approach going into tomorrow’s game will be crucial. We started the last two games well, but in this morning’s training session I’m more interested in looking at what formation to use than who to include in the squad. The subs bench will obviously depend on who is in the starting line-up and vice versa."
Stramaccioni also spoke about Diego Milito’s fitness: "He sat out of training yesterday after discussing things with the doctor, we’ll see how he looks on the pitch today. He felt his muscle tighten as he played a pass."
More from the Nerazzurri coach’s conference before Inter v Palermo to follow soon on inter.it