Stramaccioni dismisses need for Inter overhaul

The Roman believes that, once he gets back all of his injured players, the Nerazzurri will only need to bring in a few top signings to challenge for trophies again. Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni insists that the struggling Serie A giants do not need an overhaul and that not many "top-quality signings" are required this summer as many people believe.

The Nerazzurri have endured a disastrous campaign, with their early hopes of a title challenge having been derailed by a torrid injury crisis and stunning dip in form which has left them ninth in the table ahead of their Genoa showdown with just two games to go. Stramaccioni freely admits that Inter need to strengthen during the close-season but he is adamant that they still have the makings of a good squad.

"Yes, we do need to make some top-quality signings, but, in terms of numbers, fewer than you might imagine," the Roman is quoted as saying by his club's official website.

"Inter have a good base here: it can be improved but it's already good. Inter came out of the January window with an exceptional player and that's Mateo Kovacic. Finding a player that good at just 19 is extraordinary."

Stramaccioni also rejected the notion that he has contributed to Inter's struggles this year by failing to implement a clearly defined strategy and style of play, arguing that the unavailability of so many players through injury has hindered him greatly in that regard.

"That's the criticism which hurts the most on a personal level because I made my way up to Serie A always playing the same system, setting my teams up in a very precise way," he confessed. "If a coach is successful for 12 years using a particular formation and then changes it's because he believes he can get more out of what's available to him by doing so. "Next year we'll have a very clear tactical system. I'm sorry about the criticism but Inter always comes first.

"This is my first full season in Serie A and it's the first time I've experienced an injury crisis like this. There's certainly a huge dollop of bad luck involved but no one wants to hide everything behind that. "We've looked at what we can do better and we're keeping our analysis in house, but a situation like the one we find ourselves in at the moment can't not affect things. We're playing with a totally different squad."

Meanwhile, Stramaccioni revealed that Antonio Cassano is set to play some part in Sunday's Serie A clash with Genoa.

"Cassano is recovering well," he explained. "He had a nasty injury and he's not 100 per cent yet but he can play a part tomorrow, perhaps not from the off but at some point during the game."