Inter coach Frank De Boer is currently under a lot of pressure. Three straight losses in the championship and a lot of people are saying he’s done. From Appiano Gentile the Dutchman gave his views on what is happening in Inter at the moment.
How much would you like to have a win and get back to all that’s been against you in this moment? “It’s always like this for me. I’m a bit tired of talking about these things now, what counts is the players and the team. I only care about how we can change this situation, which is a difficult one, for me and for Inter. We all have to stick together in order to change this. We have continued to work, for me it’s just a matter of time. I know that this is difficult since we are talking about football where you don’t have much time. But the only thing I can do is to stay focused on the game against Torino tomorrow.”
What have management told you? “We started a project together, a project that we knew was a difficult one. For the last five years Inter have won nothing, there’s a reason for that and we want to change it. The Suning group knew this and I accepted it with a lot of confidence in improving Inter. For me that’s important because when started this project we were aware of its difficulties.”
Do you still have the locker-room? Because in Bergamo we saw a lot of players performing well below their standard, especially in the first half. “The first half in Bergamo was the worst I’ve seen since I got here, I was angry with the players because I didn’t recognise them. We changed this attitude in the second half and I saw many players playing with greater confidence when having possession of the ball. We were another team in the second half and after our goal Inter was the only team going for the win. In Bergamo it’s always difficult for Inter. I was really disappointed with the first half, we all want to see an Inter like we saw in the beginning of this project. We don’t want 45 well played minutes, we want 90 well played minutes. The locker-room? I have it at 100%. I have a lot of confidence in the team and we know we have to improve a lot considering the last games. I have faith in us, we have only played one game really bad.”
Do you feel you have the management on your side? Do you feel protected? “Yes, management is always present, we always talk both on and off the pitch and the atmosphere is always good. They have their opinion, everybody has a n opinion and that’s fine. I feel that Suning group have confidence in me and in this situation it’s very important both for me and for the team. We all are confident in this project.”
People say that a win against Torino tomorrow isn’t enough, that you still have to go. What do you have to say about that? “I don’t want to think about it, I only want to think about preparing the team for the game. After that we can think about it, I’m optimistic though. I have faith in my team and think they have what it takes in order to turn this situation around. The club knew this was a difficult project and now they are supporting me.”
We are now at the 10th round of the championship and you have lost a lot of games. Is there anything you regret? What has been the most difficult aspect for you? “For me the philosophy always has remained the same, a lot of these games we have played as we wanted to. Maybe not always for 90 minutes but against Juventus, Roma, Cagliari and Bologna I’ve seen an Inter that I would always like to see. At this moment we need to understand that there is no room for errors. For me it’s all about time, it’s difficult working with 20 new players. A lot of players are disappointed because they don’t get to play, but there are only eleven players that can take the pitch. You have to accept that, but it’s also a difficult decision for me. I told the team that, only eleven can play.”
If you would have arrived in June, would you have set up your team like this? “When you have more time to prepare your team, it’s easier to find out the limits of the group and can more easily prepare for the championship. The things we would have tried in the friendly games we now try during the official games. That means that you discover issues now that would have been discovered during pre-season. This is a problem, we didn’t have a lot of friendly games and this is the real problem. Inter wanted to play a more offensive football, but in order to do that you need more time. As you get to know the players you can stat with a basic idea and change that after some time and experience. With that time I would have discovered the ideal starting eleven in order to realise that philosophy. Right now we just have to accept the situation and with small steps move forward to a complete and working philosophy. It’s tough to do that during a championship. But I accepted this situation when I took the job, the club and the management were also aware of that. It’s not like a new coach would solve these problems, another coach would face the same issues. What counts now is that Suning group continues to believe in this project and that we can resolve the situation and move forward”
Talk to us about Torino. Is it game for players with good character or good feet? “Torino is a team that plays with high pressure, they are in good form now and play with three attackers that are also in good form. Ljajic, Belotti and Falque are good and the team comes to San Siro with confidence. For me it’s a good moment to win. It will be an interesting game where they will play 4-3-3 with press and with the same philosophy that we have.”
Against Atalanta and Southampton maybe the worst first half we have seen this season? “Against Southampton I saw discipline without the ball, same thing I saw against Juventus. You always have to start with this, no matter what play you want to have. First, stay compact then be confident with the ball. This is what happened in the second half, especially after our goal.”
You say that the team is where it should be, how come the opponents always gets the ball first? “Against Atalanta the first half was awful, I honestly don’t know how we ended up playing like this. But we have to understand that when our opponent scores first it gets to our heads, like in other games. It costs energy and we have to be much more concentrated. We have to score first, yesterday we talked about it with the players and it’s really important that the team upholds its concentration. You can’t concede a goal.”
What have you said to the players? Can we expect some changes in the line-up tomorrow? “I don’t want to speak about what I have said to the players. I want to see a united team with the same idea of how to play the match, this is most important to me. We must have only one idea of playing and we must win playing according to our philosophy.”
In Holland people are talking about whether or not you should have taken the job? “Yes, but I like Inter and Milan a lot. I feel appreciated by the fans, life here is good, everything works in order to make a life here. And not only for living it’s also optimal for working.”
What criticism has hurt the most? “At this moment I don’t read the papers, reading the papers can’t change the situation. The only thing that counts is to work. It’s always better if they speak well about Inter and about me, but in this moment we know that’s not the case. The only thing I focus on know is to work hard, the rest doesn’t matter.”
You have always talked about Suning when referring to the club. Do you feel supported by Thohir? “Thohir is the club and just like Suning he supports me. I refer to the club but that includes everybody, Ausilio, Zanetti, Thohir.”
Why is Banega off the radar? And Gabigol was never there? “It’s a matter of tactics, I don’t have to explain myself but I’m very happy with Ever. He’s doing well, but we have a lot of good players at the moment. Against Atalanta I preferred Brozovic, then there is always room for change. It is not a problem but rather a tactical issue. With Gabriel I’ve often said that you must understand that here it’s not easy for him. The team is not in a good situation right now and trying to insert a new player in the team is not easy. He’s working hard at the moment and the time will come when he will play.”
Are you angry with Medel? Will he be fined? “If he will be fined is up to the club, we have to talk about this situation. He hurt himself but also the team. He has to understand what he did was wrong and at these times a player like him means a lot to the squad. But it’s like that. Within short we will know the extent of his suspension but he will not play tomorrow that’s for sure. Not the most intelligent behaviour.”
