Antonio Conte slams Inter directors in furious rant after his side throw away Champions League lead to lose to Dortmund
ANTONIO CONTE was furious as his Inter Milan squad "reached its limit" in the Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
The Germans came from two goals down to win on Tuesday, leaving the coach lambasting a perceived lack of preparation by club bosses.
He told Sky Sports Italia: "It was the same thing that happened in Barcelona. In fact, this was worse, as we had a two-goal advantage.
"It’s disappointing, but what can I say? They tell me that I should smile more on television. I should always say the same things, the growth process, taking it step by step, so just ask me some questions and I’ll try to answer."
Inter have started brightly under Conte, who arrived in the summer and has so far led them to second in Serie A where they sit within a point of Juventus.
And a number of senior figures in the Italian game last night warned the former Chelsea boss that he must remain patient despite Tuesday's defeat.
Alessandro Del Piero insisted Conte "must be careful not to push too hard" following the second-half collapse.
While veteran coach Fabio Capello said: "He has to stay calm, he has been there for three months. I see only positive things but we all know his mentality. I would never have said what he said in public.”
Indeed, Conte pointed to the difficulty his Inter squad faces in competing in two major competitions as partly behind the Dortmund loss.
He stated: "It irritates me and I hope that this defeat irritates my players too. We can do no more than to work and that’s what we’re doing.
"I am just fed up of saying the same things over and over, I hope a director comes here and says things instead.
"I don’t care about January or February. We should have planned this season out much, much better.
"We proved that we can trouble anyone if we are on form, but there are players who have played non-stop. I am fed up of saying it. You can take your conclusions from a second-half like that.
"It’s not about the club, it’s that we have to work together and big mistakes were made. We cannot play in Serie A and the Champions League constantly pushed to the limits.
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"I also have to talk to the players, because we went from 4-1 up to 4-3 against Sassuolo too, so it’s not just that, but the players do have alibis and there’s no point denying our current condition."
In conclusion, the 50-year-old said: "I am really p****d off, because we cannot do more than this.
"We have reached our limit."