Inter manager Antonio Conte held his customary pre-match press conference at Inter’s training ground ahead of Inter’s match with Parma tomorrow.

“We are childhood friends. We have a very close relationship with one another and I am glad he is doing good for himself,” he began.

“We will have to be very careful because Parma are good. We must be careful not to leave spaces on the field for them to counter into because they have lethal players like Gervinho, who can come up with something from nothing. All of Parma is a strong team, they are well set up. It will be a pleasure to face them, but they will want to beat us just as we want to beat them.”

Next he was asked if he was happy with the current state of his attack.

“We started with a very precise idea according to the characteristics of the players. We knew we had three strikers with certain characteristics: Lukaku, Lautaro and Sanchez. We also knew that Politano has characteristics that are not exactly top-notch but he played at striker with Sassuolo.

“I ask for certain things and certain movements from the strikers. We also have Sebastiano Esposito as a fifth option. Alexis Sanchez got hurt and is a considerable loss for us. We need to evaluate his situation. I will need to talk to the management about the transfer market and make the best decision.

He was then asked if any of the injured players will return.

“We still have training today, I want to talk to doctors and make evaluations. It is a time when we must make a virtue of necessity and overcome difficulties as we did with Dortmund. It will not be easy to play every three days, we are trying to recover the physical and mental energies and at the same time we have to prepare the game.

“We are ready to do battle, we were against Borussia Dortmund and we will be ready tomorrow too knowing that it is a difficult match. I hope the atmosphere is the same at San Siro as it was fundamental for us on Wednesday.”

Next, a journalist asked what more he wants to see from his Inter.

“You can see an idea from the start, you don’t need seven or eight months. You can see for better or worse and it is inevitable that as time passes you will see certain mechanisms evolve.

“I think that an idea in Inter can be seen both in possession and in non-possession. We have to work, if there is a regret it is not having so much time to do it because playing every three days and having just started the journey we would have needed more time to work on the details and on everything. I’m happy because for the time I have available to me a group of guys who understand things well.”

Next he was asked if signing so many Italian players was something he requested.

“My goal and that of the leadership is to focus on strong and reliable players who are either Italian or foreign. The most important thing is that they are available. Italian players give you immediate guarantees because they know the way we work already in Italy, which is a little different too abroad.

“We are more picky, more tactical and much more pro-video analysis. Abroad this is all done on a smaller scale. The Italian players does not need time to integrate I think it is important to have an Italian core. The most important thing is to have players in teams who can direct the work we do and give you a hand to promote this type of work.

Next he spoke on Stefano Sensi, who was doing well to control games before getting injured.

“With his characteristics Sensi can play in front of the defence, he has done so so many times in the past. When I can, I prefer Sensi to play in the middle because he is very intelligent in between the lines. We also have Borja Valero capable of doing that. Brozovic is doing well but he knows that I am very demanding and knows where he must improve to become a top player.”

Next he was asked about Juventus president Andrea Agnelli’s recent swipe at him.

“We have to be good at looking at ourselves, not at others. If we really have to look, let’s do it to those in front of us, not backwards. We have started a new path and we know what difficulties there are. We must be satisfied and at the same time we must not lose sight of reality.

“We have to fight in every game, every match must be an important test. Only in this way will the three points arrive. I think we are on the right track. We continue like this and try to see where we will be able to get at the end. The important thing, as I said, is to go to the top without having any regrets.

“The last 20 minutes against Sassuolo did not make me happy, nor the staff and the players, who were the first to realise that we need to improve without going at the mercy of the opponents in that final part of the match. I think that already with Dortmund there was a good answer. I’m a lucky coach as the players want to improve after mistakes, they understand when things are not going well.”

Next he was asked what he made of Stefan de Vrij’s performances this season.

“Stefan, like Bonucci was for me at Juventus, is an important player for us. I have always said that the three defenders are the one who start the build up.

He was then asked if Marcelo Brozovic is the best player he has worked with.

“He can improve. He must improve in the defensive phase because whoever plays in front of the defence plays an important role. Brozovic is a genius and has different chracteristics but is working well, he wants to improve and must continue to work.”

In conclusion he was asked if he thinks Lucien Agoume could be the next youngster to make the jump to the senior team.

“In my opinion, Lucien still has to take one more step. He has qualities but comes from a foreign league. We are very tactical, we need to take another step before thinking we can play him in the first team, but he has all the qualities and when there is the possibility we will work on it.

“We have many good young guys like Lucien, like Pirola and many others. The youth sector is doing very well, then it’s up to me to seize the opportunities that will come to me from the academy and figure out who can be part of the Inter squad and those who need to wait.

“On my part there is no fear. Pogba arrived at my Juve at 18 and played after two months. If one is strong, I have no foreclosures. Young people bring enthusiasm and determination, the important thing is that they are certainties because we play important games in which there is not only the goal of throwing on the young but we need the three points.”