Antonio Conte has revealed his pride at taking Inter back to where they belong during his two years in charge.
Inter won the Serie A title in dominant fashion last month, after Conte’s side blew away all their competition during the second half of the campaign.
Conte left the club by mutual consent last week after deciding he couldn’t accept Suning’s plans to cut costs and sell one or two key players.
In an interview with Italian broadcaster DAZN, which was recorded before Conte parted company with the Nerazzurri, he explained: “I think I’m a person who doesn’t settle for ‘comfortable’ situations.
“I think I chose the most difficult situation.
“When I signed for Inter, the aim was a three-year project which took the club back to being ambitious and playing for important objectives.
“The fact we succeeded in the second year was a great achievement.”
Inter went top of the table for the first time in February when they beat Lazio and AC Milan lost away at Spezia.
Conte’s side extended their lead over the Rossoneri to four points the following weekend, when they recorded an emphatic 3-0 win in the Derby della Madonnina.
“In terms of the league, the decisive moment was when we overtook AC Milan,” Conte argued.
“At that moment you have to withstand the pressure, because you go from being the hunter to being the hunted.
“You must understand that from that moment onwards, everything depends on your results.
“You aren’t dependent on anything and anyone else, but you know that by winning you put pressure on everyone.
“We could have been anxious when we went top of the league, but instead we accelerated.
“I think that was the decisive moment because from then on, those who were behind struggled because they saw that the team ahead (Inter) kept winning.”
Conte also spoke about his relationship with Inter’s players, which seemed to become even tighter as the club navigated all their off-field turmoil last season.
“One thing my players appreciate about me is that it’s better to say an ugly truth than a nice lie,” Conte explained.
“You can build things on an ugly truth, even if at that moment the person or player who works with you can take it badly.
“At the end, they appreciate it because an ugly truth leads to reflection and then an improvement.
“The players have improved, it’s inevitable that they’re right at the start.
“It’s the first time for loads of them to win something important in their careers.
“But like I always say, when you start winning you need that winning feeling to enter your brain, it needs to be yours.
“And you know that in order to win, sometimes you have to exasperate certain situations.
“The guys did really well, all of them are starting a journey as winners.
“Not only have they won an Italian league title, they won a league that for nine or 10 years was all about one team (Juventus).
“The fact they pulled off this achievement is a great credit to them.”
