Spalletti: Inter are Serie A contenders when Scudetto questions stop

Inter coach Luciano Spalletti believes his team will only be considered Serie A tile contenders when people stop asking him about their Scudetto credentials.

Spalletti’s men held Napoli to a 0-0 draw at the Stadio San Paolo on Saturday and remain two points adrift of the Serie A leaders, with defending champions Juve a point behind the Nerazzurri.

They host Sampdoria on Tuesday before Napoli visit Genoa and Juventus welcome SPAL to Turin on Wednesday.

But Spalletti is still not interested in talk of the Scudetto for his unbeaten side.

He told a pre-match media conference: “I liked a lot of things at Napoli but at the same time, you can always find something to improve.

“I’m satisfied because we went there to play and get on the ball even if we could have been more effective in certain situations.

 | #Spalletti: “We have to look at ourselves and not think about others. We have to play well and be focused.” #InterSampdoria pic.twitter.com/Pp2wpN5pfI

— Inter (@Inter_en) October 23, 2017

“We can’t have doubts about the road to follow; we need to make steps forward in order to reach our objectives. We want to be more certain in ourselves. We can’t even let the comments made up about us affect us. 

“We know our strengths and weaknesses well; when you want to stop asking me about the Scudetto, it means that we can really compete for that objective.

“We need to continue a step at a time, we know where we want to end up.”

On the challenge posed by Samp, who are sixth in Serie A with just one defeat to their name, Spalletti added: “They’re a well-built team, [Samp coach Marco] Giampaolo makes all the teams he coaches strong and he really knows how to do the job of a coach.

“We have to do well and start again from zero in order to approach this match in the best way possible, with intensity and quality. 

“We have to warm up mentally and then get our legs and muscles going, we need to be ready to evaluate every possible risk and everyone needs to get the most out of themselves.”