Tense and like a powder keg ready to explode; this is the climate that you experience at the moment at Appiano Gentile as Inter prepare to face Juventus in the derby d’Italia. Calciomercato.com’s Emanuele Tramacere was present this afternoon as under-fire coach Frank de Boer gave his pre-match press-conference.
 

ON THE RISK OF DISMISSAL – “When you join a club like Inter you are aware that there are pressures but you cannot make drastic changes in just a week or two, not even four. We are working to improve every week and I’m sure we will succeed. The pressure is not a problem for me because I can look at myself in the mirror and know I gave my best. We are working on a project and we know what we want and how to achieve it”.  

ON JUVE – “We know that we are facing an excellent team but we are not frightened by this even we give them the maximum respect. To get a result we must be perfect and we know how difficult it will be. Inter demonstrated in the Coppa Italia last season that they can beat Juve and we find the same combative spirit as that evening we can succeed”.
 

ON THE TRUST OF THE FANS – “It’s always important for the fans to get behind the team and we need them even more in difficult moments. It’s crucial that we all stick together”.
 

ON THE CRITICISM – “I was expecting it actually as I know how Italian football works. As I said earlier, we need to work hard and keep improving to get where we want to go, this is my philosophy”.  

ON INTER V JUVE – “It’s a special game for everyone and because it’s my first one it’s even more important. I can’t wait to see a full stadium and the players are really looking forward to the game. It’s my job to get the team 100% ready whoever we play whether it’s Juventus, Empoli or Bologna. You get three points just the same”.
 

ON A DIFFICULT MOMENT – “It was the same when I was at Ajax, if you didn’t achieve results the pressure increased and I knew when I chose this road what it would be like. Everyone wants to play this game but games against teams like Empoli are just as important and I have to be able to motivate the team”