Ranieri: “What counted was winning and we did”
When Claudio Ranieri came down for the post-match interviews, he still looked a bit tense, as if he wasn’t convinced that Luc Castaignos’ goal had won the match:
“It’s not that I was unhappy with the performance. I knew we were under pressure and, logically, I was a bit nervous because we had to win here, so maybe I still suffer from pre-goal stress. Gradually I’ll get used to it and look happier…,” joked the coach
He then spoke about the winning goal scored by Luc Castaignos:
“He’s a good boy, I’ve been on his side since I got here. He has a great future ahead of him; I’m grooming him for different roles in the team. He’s a striker by nature, a natural centre-forward, but he can also play on the wing. It’s time to weigh things up match by match. I’m asking the players to sacrifice themselves as they aren’t playing for an Inter that are playing their best football; they are playing so that Inter can play their best football. We came to play a team that move well and close down on spaces, while we were sluggish, but it wasn’t easy. Anyway, I’m happy,” said the coach, “because the lads didn’t give up for one minute and we claimed our three points. That’s what’s important. A step back? Let’s not forget that we were in Turkey on Tuesday and got back at 6:00 on Wednesday morning. The players who were drafted in needed to get a feel for the pace of the match. This victory was down to work and sacrifice.
“This was an important win for us because each match now is win or lose. We have to try and win against anyone and everyone, and that’s the target we have set ourselves. Today against Siena, whose speed is their main weapon, we sat back right to the very end waiting for the right moment to strike.”
Ranieri was asked how important it is for Inter to get into a Champions League spot:
“Extremely important. It’s one of our targets. A more realistic one will be winning against Udinese on Saturday, as they are going through a good spell. We know we’re behind, but we’ll take things match by match, dreaming is good for you, but we want ours to come true, gradually. Not conceding goals is another reason for being satisfied,” said Ranieri.
The coach went on to talk about injuries:
“We are studying this. We always work with the ball, maximum 90 minutes, with a lot of tactics, I feel the injuries are recurring injuries from the past, we try to manage these well. For example we are conserving Coutinho. Whoever’s out through injury will only play again when they are totally fit, I don’t want to lose anyone again. As for the players who are out, it’s true that quite a few big names are unavailable, but it’s important that whoever is available is prepared to work for the rest of the team. We all know that Sneijder can invent wonderful balls in the most difficult part of the pitch, but at the moment he’s out through injury and we have to counter-balance that with other solutions and other players.”
In the end he turned to the transfer market:
“We have our people monitoring everything. Tevez? That was just a joke…,” said the coach, smiling. “Inter’s squad is already competitive. There is a gap between the stars and the younger players, but we’re doing all in our power to help our youngsters grow. If something interesting comes up, I’m sure our president won’t miss out on it.”
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