MILAN - José Mourinho lauded his players for bouncing back from the midweek defeat to Panathinaikos with a gritty win over Napoli.

"I don't remember our opponents having a scoring chance in the second half," the Inter coach told Sky Sport Italia.

"We controlled the match and played intelligently. I'm very satisfied with this victory and my players' performance, but we can play better. We have won our last three league matches with great merit. The team is playing very well and we're very compact.

"We're not scoring three, four of five goals a game but we're on the right track to getting as many points as possible until the Christmas break."

Mourinho also commented on Inter's home support, adding: "I think the players deserve more supporters. They must always have the support of the fans. The support of the so-called twelfth man on the pitch was lacking today. 

"If we lose against Panathinaikos we deserve to be booed and I'm the first person to accept it and congratulate the opponents. We can certainly play better and convince more people to come to the stadium. I have only just found out that there were restrictions at San Siro today, but I speak with my heart because these boys really do deserve more."

On his decision not to call up Balotelli and Quaresma for the Napoli clash, Mourinho explained: "If a player trains at twenty-five percent of his potential in the week, it's not enough for me. I don't hide behind my decisions, not even in the case of Quaresma, who I brought to Inter.

"I don't give privileges to anybody, I make the best decisions for the team. But I have a quality: I am prepared to forget. If from Tuesday onwards those who weren't called up show me what I expect of them, there won't be any problems for me and you saw this with Adriano who returned against Juventus and did well after being left out for a few matches."