Claudio Ranieri has insisted he can cope with the pressure after Inter Milan fought back to hold Catania to a 2-2 draw on Sunday.
Zanetti questions substitutions as Inter's winless run continues
Claudio Ranieri has insisted he can cope with the pressure after Inter Milan fought back to hold Catania to a 2-2 draw on Sunday.
The Nerazzurri had lost five matches in a row prior to the weekend and it looked like becoming six when Catania opened up a 2-0 half-time lead.
Goals from Diego Forlan and Diego Milito salvaged a point for Inter, but they remain winless in nine and lie seventh in Serie A, 11 points behind Lazio in the final UEFA Champions League place.
Ranieri's substitutions, particularly the half-time introduction of Wesley Sneijder, made an impact, but captain Javier Zanetti questioned the withdrawal of Esteban Cambiasso, who was reduced to tears by the crowd's response.
"You'd have to ask the coach whether it was the right decision to replace someone who has won so much," Zanetti told the
Inter Channel. "If Ranieri makes his choices, there must be a reason."
Zanetti also credited goalkeeper Julio Cesar for the inspirational team talk at half-time.
"At half-time, Julio Cesar gave us a team talk in the locker room and I have to compliment him for that," he said.
"We are all aware that this situation is not good and we want to get back to picking up points."
Long as possible
Ranieri has received the backing of club president Massimo Moratti and he has vowed to carry on striving to turn the situation around.
"It was an important reaction. This is a team that doesn't give up and we'll fight on," the manager told Inter's
official website.
"Thank goodness I have champions in the changing rooms who were able to look each other in the face and react.
"At the end of the first half I didn't feel like I was on the way out, I never have in my career.
"I have had a lot of pressure but there's no point in burying your head in the sand. A coach must stick by his team for better or for worse.
"Clouds don't only descend on the coach, they descend on the whole of Inter. President Moratti made it very clear, we are all in the dock and I'm not interested in Ranieri, I'm trying to do my best for the team.
"It's a shame that a club and a president that have done so much and have achieved so much come under criticism in their first bad season, but we must be above this. We must accept the boos and the applause.
"Can we still think about coming third? For now, we have to concentrate on winning to get on track again, and only on that."
Ranieri insists he is still planning for the long term, and said: "They proposed two years (when I arrived) and I'm happy with that; then we'll see.
"I hope I'll stay here as long as possible even if, like husbands, we're always the last to know. I think the president has confidence in me and I just concentrate on my work."
