27 February 2016
On the eve of the 166th edition of the Derby d’Italia, Roberto Mancini was under few illusions about the importance and prestige rightly associated with the most played fixture in Italy’s top tier.
However, speaking to journalists at Inter’s training ground in Appiano Gentile, the 51-year-old manager was keen to stress how, by the same token, Sunday evening’s encounter at Juventus Stadium was merely one of another 12 opportunities for his side to collect as many points as possible between now and the end of the campaign.
He began: "Games against Juventus are always special. They've won the league four years in a row whereas we've come on a lot as a team in the last two seasons and we'll keep getting better.
“However important tomorrow’s match is, I don't think you can call it a decisive one, as there are still so much left to play for.”
Focusing on how to add to their current tally of 48 points in Turin, Mancini placed emphasis on putting in a strong performance across all areas of the park.
“Our approach needs to be a positive one, in which we take the game to them. We must also try to keep a clean sheet, even though it won't be easy because we know how dangerous they can be.
“Ultimately what’s required is greater cohesion between our attack, midfield and defence. We need to be more compact than in the Coppa Italia outing last month.”
Wrapping up the press conference, Mancini downplayed the importance of how he will set up his charges in Turin.
"At times we've switched formation and players but all teams do that. I don't think that has a huge bearing on the way we play.”
