Antonio Conte is hopeful that his Inter side can begin their Champions League campaign with a victory in tomorrow night’s match against Slavia Prague.

“We start our journey in the Champions League after three league games, it will be important to start on the right foot,” he told the gathered media in the press room at Inter’s training ground.

“We will face a team that did very well last year, winning the league against Viktoria Plzen who recently did well in Europe.

“We will have to be very careful because we are talking about a physical team with a good mentality. They are used to winning and therefore they try to have this mentality in every game. We will have to have respect and attention when playing our game. There will not be much time for prepare for it, but we will have to find ourselves ready and fight if we need to do it.”

Conte then commented on Romelu Lukaku’s condition after he picked up a back injury.

“There are evaluations to be made and we will see what condition he is in. If he plays it is because he has given the necessary guarantees, otherwise someone else will play.”

He was then asked whether he will stick with the back three or experiment with a back four.

“Modern football evolves, you have to keep up with the times. I’m back in Italy and you are obsessed with tactics. In England they do not care what you play, they just want to see intensity and a fun match.”

He was then asked about the current enthusiasm surrounding his side.

“It is important for us to have this enthusiasm around us, but I repeat that it must not be brought about by the result. It would be short-lasting and not real. We must carry enthusiasm through our fans. Rome was not built in a day.

“Having said that we are working hard, so I thank the club and the players. There is great willingness to be involved and to build something important. We are trying to build some foundations for those who will come after us.”

Conte was then keen to ensure that he does not want to set goals for the team.

“It would not make sense to set a minimum or maxium target for ourselves. Lets not bound ourselves by limits. We will always try to give our best and be 100%. We will then see what happens, where we will be and what kind of ambitions we can have.

“We have to become stable, just so we can aspire to play for something important. We want to give a signal of stability.”

He concluded by speaking on Cristiano Biraghi.

“He wasn’t in the right condition when he arrived but now he is at a good level. I am more worried about the tactical aspect because it takes time. It is essential that every player is on board with our ideas. If one player isn’t on board, its a problem.