Pioli: "Our duty to do better for Inter"

FLORENCE - Stefano Pioli sought no excuses for Inter's second-half collapse at Fiorentina but insisted he and the players have an obligation to do better.

"There's no explanation for what happened – we just switched off after a good first half in which we responded to going a goal behind and created chances," the coach said after the game.

"At the first sign of trouble we disappear and make mistakes we weren't making up to a month ago. We're not the team we've seen in the last few weeks. We have a duty to do better and to honour Inter's name.

"We need to work harder and better. I thought I'd pressed all the right buttons with my players but I'll have to work more on their mental attitude.

"We threw away the match today in a 30-minute spell when we played with no team spirit or intensity. We didn't play as a team and we paid the price for it.

"The club have always given me their backing and support, even in the tough times. We have five matches left to play but we've frittered away everything we built up over the last few months – there's no point denying it.

“The rumours don't affect my work. I always do everything I can to do my job well and do what's best for the team.”