MILAN – The Nerazzurri coach spoke to the press following Inter v Chievo.

Here’s what he had to say:

[On what was missing tonight] "A goal, I can’t fault my team at all. Chievo are a very fit, well coached and organised side. We had a huge chance through Palacio in the first half, had we scored we would have seen a different game, a more open one. Chievo came here to defend and hit us on the break, hoping we’d make a mistake. They put in a great performance in any case.

"I changed system today, we played differently to every other match. We played a 3-4-3 today, but then we shuffled things a great deal during the game. We had chances to score but we just couldn’t find the final ball. Kovacic for instance made a great run between the lines but we just lacked a little experience. We’re conceding goals from opponents’ first attempts: that’s how it’s been going. You get through times like these by working hard. The lads have belief, they work well, but we just need a touch of luck to change the way things are going.

"I have to praise president Thohir. It’s not easy to say the right things for the team. We hope the fans are patient. He told me things I already knew, we’re all together and we’re building something important here.

"Refereeing decisions? I’m not going to talk about referees until the season is over. Nicchi said that coaches shouldn’t moan about referees? I’ve got a lot to say but I’ll wait till the end of the season, I don’t know who he was referring to.

"Chievo were hoping we’d lose the ball to be able to break and that happened a lot in our attacking third. Our approach is to always look to win games. Juan Jesus might have made a few mistakes, but that’s part of his development, his like everyone else’s, because that guy will become a great player, that’s for sure. Perhaps fate will allow us to get the points we deserve, either way we’ll give everything until the end of the season. I think we deserved to win today, but I see the team has an identity and this means we’re improving in the right way. How do I feel? Those who know me know I give everything for the cause."

A question on the forward line: "Do we need forwards? The president was clear, before we can bring anyone we have to let someone go. I’m working a lot with Alvarez and Kovacic, when one of the two goes out wide, the other goes with him to help set up the cross.These are things that should see us improve. We ended the game with three forwards and had chances to score. In terms of results, it’s a case of it never rains but it pours. But we move forward. The supporters’ banner? I thank the fans who despite what they’re being served up, still think that."

Finally a word on the dismissal of Allegri: "The coach always pays for situations like these. His contract was expiring, we all know that results have more of a say when that’s the case. We mustn’t forget what he achieved, in football people tend to have short memories."

MILAN – The Nerazzurri defender spoke to Inter Channel following Inter 1-1 Chievo.

Here’s what he had to say:

“We’re doing and trying everything. We put in a great performance, we had a lot of chances in the first half. We need to keep going down this track. We’re calm, we need to move on and get back to winning ways. We’ll need to take some risks to do so.

“The boos at the end? Once they start, it’s hard to stop them. Booing doesn’t bother me, you can boo me as much as you like, but I’ll still be there focused.

“What do we need to turn things around? We’re unlucky too, we’ll find a way to get back to winning. Referees? We need to try and win even if they get things wrong like tonight. Botta should have had a penalty. Nagatomo’s goal today should have stood though.”

MILAN – Kuzmanovic gave his verdict on the match, beginning with the stonewall penalty not given in injury time after a foul on Ruben Botta: “It was a penalty and I have to say it’s not the first time they’ve not given us this sort of decision. And Nagatomo’s goal wrongly disallowed for offside? I knew straight away that he was level. There were some dodgy incidents at Udinese too. The referees are making a lot of mistakes with us.”

The Serb put in an excellent performance today: “The coach has backed me and I like this system. I gave my all to do what he asked me to: take charge of the team. In the end I was a bit tired having not played in so long. On a personal note I’m happy, at the start I was very patient and I couldn’t say anything, even though I wasn’t picked much, because the team was doing well. But I’ve always given everything to help the team and I will continue to do so. We’ve dropped a few points against sides near the bottom, just as we did today, even though we tried everything.”

MILAN – Managing director Marco Fassone commented on the referee’s performance at the end of Inter v Chievo: “These are bad mistakes, we need to assess things. The club is angry, we can’t fathom how these mistakes come about.”

The MD was then quizzed about Inter’s transfer window strategy and their targets for the rest of the season: “Our transfer market strategy is determined by footballing and financial needs. The president has been clear on that. What’s our target for the rest of the season? We haven’t given ourselves one. A cycle is coming to an end. We’ll do well with Mazzarri.”