Inter manager Antonio Conte held his final pre-match press conference of 2019 as he examined tomorrow evening’s match at home to Genoa with him firstly asked if this is the most important game yet.

“Of course it is. I have always said that we wanted to reach the Christmas break in the best possible way and be at the top of the table,” he began.

“In the first five months we have had to face important problems but are facing them in the right manner. The fact these problems have emerged has meant lots of players understood that it was necessary to give more.”

Next he was asked about youngsters Sebastiano Esposito and Lucien Agoume, who both could start against the Rossoblu.

“There has been an important amount of growth from these two boys. They have had the opportunity to train with us, especially Esposito and then also Lucien.

“Both of them are young, they had the opportunity to make their debut and they deserved it. They are two guys who potentially have the skills to become part of the foundations of Inter for many years to come.

“I believe in them a lot. I know that regardless of the result the performances will be positive from them because they will put the maximum effort into it, whether they start immediately or come on as substitutes.”

He then touched upon the status of the many injured players.

“We have to wait and see what will happen with injured players, we still have some training to do. We will make evaluations knowing that the disqualifications of both Marcelo Brozovic and Lautaro Martinez have left us in even more of an emergency situation.”

Next he was asked what it would mean to end the calendar year at the top of the Serie A table.

“It would be an important signal from us and the whole environment. I was very worried some time ago because there was a situation that forced us to make forced choices, to always focus on the same players and take important risks.

“I said that we would try to get to Christmas in the best possible way. We are here now, it would be fantastic if we could win the game tomorrow despite the great emergency. We will meet a Genoa side who need points and comes into the game off the back of a home loss. We know their quality and must face them in the right way.”

Conte proceeded to go on to talk about what he thinks the team have lacked in their past two matches in the league, both of which have ended being draws.

“I am very critical and I ask a lot of the boys and I think we have collected less than we deserved. It is not nice to talk about bad luck or luck but we had so many chances that had to be taken advantage off.

“We could have been more careful in some situations but overall the performances were positive. I hope to see the same desire that I saw against Roma, Barcelona and Fiorentina, and a little more attention in every way. we will have to be perfect to win.”

The former Italy manager was then quizzed on how much he likes being involved in the project.

“The more time passes, the more you enter the project and the situation. It has been five months now and we have worked so hard. We are doing a great, we are all working together to build something important and as I said it will be important to leave a mark, which does not mean winning but laying important foundations: work culture, professionalism and serious behaviour.”

Next he spoke on Alexis Sanchez, who looks to be nearing a return from a lengthy injury lay-off.

“He is eager to come back but it is necessary for him to put his foot on the brakes and not rush back and respect what the professor who operated on him said with regards to a return.”

He then spoke on the difficulties Milan Skriniar has had in recent weeks and came to the defence of the Slovakian.

“Skriniar is essential for us. He is a modern day defender and he is young. He is working hard to try and improve because he has his whole life ahead of him.”

He then went on to share his delight at the players he inherited.

“Five months have passed, I’m glad I found this group of players. They are all exceptional people and this goes for staff like the gardeners, storekeeper and security guards too. This surprised me a lot in a positive way and it gives me joy to continue working despite some situations that have arose.”

In conclusion he was asked about the possibility of dropping the defensive line later on in the season.

“We have been working on certain concepts since the beginning of the year. When you start with a new coach and with other ideas, you need time.

“It is inevitable that the more time passes the more the idea enters the footballer’s heads, that’s why when I’m talking about growth steps, I’m talking about laying important foundations.

“The longer you stay with the boys, the more you can work on the detail, on the management of the game, to understand when you have to go to press high or kick the ball into the stands, go to the corner flag or what have.

“Only time will allow us to improve and if we continue in this way I see a beautiful journey because the boys have a lot of desire.”