Inter coach Antonio Conte has shown his ability to motivate the players on the fringes of his squad, Italian media claim.

The Nerazzurri went top of the Serie A table with a 2-0 victory over Fiorentina on Friday evening, ahead of AC Milan’s visit of Crotone today.

As reported in today’s newspaper edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport, Conte’s methods of bringing previously unwanted or out of form players into the fold and drawing performances out of them has been a crucial cog in his success.

The strong performance of Alexis Sanchez at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, just over a week after he appeared set to be offloaded to Roma, was highlighted as an example.

Meanwhile, Christian Eriksen’s display against Benevento last weekend showed the Dane returning to top form after a poor first 12 months in Italy following his arrival from Tottenham Hotspur.

Conte will now turn his attention to Englishman Ashley Young and Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal, with the pair underwhelming in recent weeks.