Christian Chivu's press conference

It's the day before Fiorentina vs. Inter, the Nerazzurri’s final fixture before the international break. Ahead of the clash on matchday 30 in Serie A, scheduled for Sunday 22 March at 20:45 CET at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, Cristian Chivu addressed the media in his pre-match press conference from the BPER Training Centre in Appiano Gentile.

Good afternoon, coach. Inter are away to Fiorentina tomorrow in their final game before the international break. What sort of performance will be needed, and how are the team heading into it? "The team are in a good place. We’ve had a full week on the training pitch and know what to expect from tomorrow's game. We're ready for it."

Conte has spoken about the pressure on you. Do you feel it? Can it be a motivating factor? "Football is all about pressure. No one talks about the chasing pack, there's still a long way to go this season and plenty of games left. With three points for a win, anything can happen. We're aware of the path we're on, what we've done so far, and also of the ambitions of the other teams, who quite rightly believe they can compete right to the end."

Do you think the work you're doing should be looked at differently? "We see it as 27 points available for us. In the three-points-per-win era, anything is possible. Our focus is on staying competitive and building on the good work we’ve done so far. We need to keep concentrating on ourselves and build even more consistency into our ambitions and our progress this season."

How did you all decide not to speak after the Atalanta game and to hold a press conference today instead? "It was a decision we made together after what happened on the pitch last Sunday. But I prefer to focus on football and not get distracted by anything that could create excuses. We made a few technical and tactical errors in that game. We all asked ourselves what we could have done better. We shouldn’t concern ourselves with other people’s mistakes, because those are out of our control."

Three games without a win and only one goal scored: is this down to Lautaro’s absence, or is it a dip in form? "It's a bit of everything. It's normal over the course of a season to go through moments that are less sharp than usual. You also have to look at what's been achieved: compared to the matchday before, we gained a point. We need to focus on our improvement, on what we need to regain in terms of energy, ambition, and quality, without losing sight of our journey and the progress we’ve made, fully aware that no one gives you anything — you have to go out and take it."

Tre partite senza vittorie e con un solo gol: è per l’assenza di Lautaro o c’è un calo?

“C’è un po’ di tutto, è una cosa fisiologica durante una stagione di avere momenti meno brillanti del solito. Bisogna anche guardare a quello che si è ottenuto perchè rispetto a una giornata fa abbiamo guadagnato un punto. Bisogna andare a vedere il nostro miglioramento, quello che dobbiamo ritrovare dal punto di vista delle energie e dell’ambizione, della qualità, senza perdere di vista il cammino e il percorso consapevoli del fatto che nessuno ti regala nulla e bisogna andare a prendersi tutto”.