Inter have not achieved anything yet, warns coach Conte

1-0 win in Bologna marked a huge step towards them being crowned Italian champions, as it sent them eight points clear

MILAN:

Inter Milan have a lot of work still to do before they can think about ending an 11-year wait for the Serie A title, head coach Antonio Conte warned his players after their 1-0 win in Bologna on Saturday.

The victory marked a huge step towards Inter being crowned Italian champions, as it sent them eight points clear in first after title rivals AC Milan and Juventus were held to draws by Sampdoria and Torino respectively.

“There are still 10 games to play, nine for some other teams. The road is long and there are still 27-30 points to assign,” Conte told Sky Italia.

“We know very well that the Italian league is difficult, you need to win every game. As the games count down, it’s inevitable that we will start to look ahead. But it’s up to us to earn first place, we haven’t achieved anything yet.”

Inter, who last won Serie A under Jose Mourinho in 2009/10, have a game in hand over second-placed Milan and can extend their lead to 11 points if they beat Sassuolo at home on Wednesday.

A title win would not only end Inter’s long wait, but end Juventus’s nine-year stranglehold on the domestic championship.

“Inter called me in to change the history of recent years. The objective was to manage to win within three years, or to build something credible and make the fans proud,” Conte said.

“Some things have changed since the start of the journey, but we have to stay focused on the work and think about influencing what we can.”