BIRMINGHAM - Roberto Mancini was philosophical in defeat after the Nerazzurri's 3-0 reverse at Villa Park. "No one likes losing, not even in a friendly, but we can say that this defeat was quite predictable," he commented.

"We were tired after yesterday's double training. Tired and in trouble against an in-form opponent who play their first championship fixture next weekend and who have therefore planned the summer to have this brilliance and velocity in their legs.

"You could see the difference in preparation on the pitch and the result is a logical consequence, but the team fought hard and produced some good chances.

"So there's obviously no drama. Without taking anything away from the other friendlies we played before and after, the Manchester match was the main fixture of this week in England and that was what we were working towards. The most important aspect is the work we have done in this training camp which will certainly come in useful later on."

As planned before today's friendly against Aston Villa, Mancini has given his players two days off. The Nerazzurri will be back training at the Centro Sportivo Angelo Moratti on Tuesday afternoon ahead of Wednesday's Birra Moretti Trophy, a triangular tournament of 45-minutes matches against Napoli and Juventus.

Inter will then fly to Holland the following Saturday for a friendly against AZ Alkmaar. Pre-season preparations continue on 14 August with another triangular tournament - the Tim Trophy against AC Milan and Juventus at San Siro.

The Nerazzurri are at home again on Sunday 19 August for the season's curtain raiser, the 2007 Italian Super Cup against Roma (tickets on sale from 6 August).