Inter coach Antonio Conte could not hide his delight after seeing his side secure a 1-0 victory over Cagliari in Serie A today.

A second half Matteo Darmian goal was enough to settle a tight encounter at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza and move Inter 11 points clear with just eight games remaining, as they edge closer to a first Scudetto since 2010.

However, Conte refused to get carried away whilst also praising the mentality of his players, in an interview with Italian television broadcaster DAZN after the final whistle.

“I’m always stressed but the celebration was a reward for the lads, as was the kiss to [Achraf] Hakimi,” the former Juventus coach declared.

“I don’t consider myself to be an older brother but I often kiss them on the forehead, they know the affection I have for them and that I’m ready to throw myself into the fire for them. Hakimi deserved it, as did Darmian.”

“”I keep repeating the same thing. The matches are becoming fewer and the victories start to be worth six points,” Conte claimed.

“Milan won yesterday in Parma and it was important for us to maintain the distance at the top, but by now we are used to this type of situation.

“For many it is the first time they are playing under this pressure and having to win because others are picking up points, but I am very satisfied with the progress of these guys. We have grown so much in the space of under two seasons from every point of view, and show this every Sunday.

“I say the ‘countdown’ to the title in quotations, because we play to win and always push forward. We are not a team that make calculations and I do not want us to because I like winning too much and I want the players to feel this too.

“The objective is in sight but we are not there yet, we have won three big games in eight days but at the same time we know it’s not enough because there are eight more matches.”

Conte made changes to his starting line-up but was able to secure the victory, and saw the match open up after bringing Lautaro Martinez on from the bench in place of Alexis Sanchez.

“Sometimes I used a third striker, but when Sanchez is on the bench it is because he knows how to make an impact. I wanted to continue with Lautaro because I know that he and Lukaku work well. I saw that things could change in the centre.

“If we hadn’t scored in the last ten minutes, I would have put [Andrea] Pinamonti in the middle, between Lukaku and Lautaro. I preferred to continue because we found a goal despite the excellent defensive work of Cagliari and the excellent debut of Vicario to whom I congratulate.

“He performed well and the confidence shown bodes well for his future. If Sanchez had been on the bench maybe I would have forced to change immediately.

“Christian Eriksen wasn’t finding the right position, so I swapped him with Stefano Sensi. There we broke through many times, Skriniar found the lines of play with Sensi and Lukaku.”

Conte insisted he was impressed with the progress his side had made as they moved closer to the league title, whilst insisting that a strong mentality in the group was behind their success.

“This is a stable team, as it was last year when we reached 81 points and the Europa League final. Without stability you cannot finish second behind Juventus, and it is inevitable that there is room for growth.

“The team know this, with their mentality and desire. This is thanks to the players who show strong belief in everything that is asked of them every day,” Conte added.