Baresi cools title talk

Inter assistant taking it one game at a time

Last updated: 9th February 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Baresi cools title talk

Baresi: League focus

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Assistant coach Giuseppe Baresi insists the Inter Milan players are refusing to take their current league position for granted, despite sitting pretty at the top of Serie A.

Inter go into Wednesday night's away game at Parma knowing victory would put them 11 points clear of second-placed AS Roma.

And, with only 15 matches remaining, it would require a spectacular collapse from Jose Mourinho's men to see them relinquish the title.

But Baresi, standing in for head coach Mourinho at the pre-match press conference, does not want to look that far ahead.

"Of course a win would be three more points under our belt with the gap opening up further but there are still 15 games to go, Roma believe in themselves and Milan believe in themselves," he said.

"Hence for us there's still a lot of games to play and a whole championship to go through."

Concentrate

The UEFA Champions League is on Inter's priority list after the Parma game as Mourinho's former club Chelsea visit the San Siro on 24th February.

But Baresi is also adamant that his team will not be sidetracked by that high-profile fixture.

"Right now there's tomorrow's (Wednesday's) match. Of course newspapers often talk about the Champions League so players are aware but we concentrate on one match at a time," he added.

"Chelsea is after three more matches and we hope to be ready and in good condition but our concentration is on our first objective, which is Parma.

"And victories help you to arrive in the best possible condition for your next commitments."

Baresi also stood up for his boss, who has had a fraught relationship with the Italian press since arriving at the San Siro in 2008.

When asked about his own relationship with the Portuguese, he replied: "Everyone would like to have my job, putting up with him."