Serie A - Inter 'not worried' if Sneijder leaves

Gasperini played down his lack of experience in coaching big clubs and rejected the idea that he would be in the shadows of Jose Mourinho, who won a Serie A, Italian Cup and Champions League treble the season before last.

"There's no doubt that Sneijder's a great player, but it's hard to know what's going to happen over the next 50 days," Gasperini said.

"Inter want to become a better team, and two years ago the departure of (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic left the team even stronger than it was before," he said referring to the Swede who has since played for Barcelona and AC Milan.

"I'm not worried about the situation surrounding Wesley. In the last few years, Inter have made fewer bad moves on the market than anybody else and have made the best decisions.

"So I have every reason to feel confident."

He added: "This team is full of great players capable of performing in different positions, and that includes Sneijder.

"What we must show right from the beginning is a strong mentality and a desire to achieve new targets."

Gasperini became Inter's fourth coach in little more than a year after Mourinho departed last summer and Rafa Benitez and Leonardo failed to last more than a few months each last season.

Inter were last season denied a sixth successive scudetto by AC Milan and were humiliatingly dumped out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Schalke 04 after a 5-2 home defeat in the first leg.

The 53-year-old has previously coached unglamorous Crotone and Genoa and will be taking charge of a big club for the first time, although he has coached the youth team at Juventus.

"Something can be learnt from each of them, though we know that everyone has their own methods and their own way of building up a rapport with the players," he said of his predecessors.

"There have been generations of important Inter coaches and players. I will become a part of that starting from now and I must concentrate on the immediate future.

"I have always thought highly of Mourinho but now we should only to look to the past for inspiration, because we all know that what matters here is winning; that is the determining factor. We have to be positive and produce good football on the pitch."

Reuters

Di Canio hopes contacts can deliver

Paolo Di Canio will use his contacts at Tottenham and AC Milan to bring in players to boost Swindon's promotion push next season.

The Italian will take his first managerial steps at the Wiltshire club after signing a two-year contract to succeed Paul Hart, who departed at the end of last month following relegation from League One.

Di Canio, who was officially unveiled as Town's new manager at a press conference at the County Ground this morning, played under Harry Redknapp for two-and-a-half years at West Ham and has already spoken to the Tottenham boss about possible loan signings.

However, the 42-year-old insists that the core of the team will remain English.

"We are close to signing Lionel Messi," Di Canio joked. "But seriously, we need people with good physical qualities. And that happens everywhere, not just League Two.

"I have good contacts. I know that Harry Redknapp would be willing to help me out with players and I have spoken positively to the chairman at Milan about lending up and coming youth."

Eurosport

Huddlestone: Aim must be Champions League

Tom Huddlestone has vowed to put his injury problems behind him and lead Tottenham back into the Champions League next season.

Huddlestone was an ever-present for Harry Redknapp's side last year but he made just 21 appearances this term after an ankle injury in November ruled him out for four months. The injury, which required Huddlestone to undergo surgery, kept him out of Tottenham's Champions League last-16 tie with AC Milan before he returned to action in April.

A further setback with the same ankle kept him sidelined for a month before he made his comeback in the 2-1 victory over Birmingham that secured Tottenham's qualification to the Europa League.

The 24-year-old admits watching Spurs' failed Champions League qualification campaign from the sidelines has been a frustrating experience but he now hopes to be a regular part of the club's push for a top-four finish next year.

"It's been very frustrating, especially with the size of the games that we've played and the ones I've missed," Huddlestone said. "But injuries happen and I've known for a couple of years that I would eventually need an operation on my ankle, so it was sort of a case of when, not if.

"I had a little setback recently and they scanned and X-rayed it, everything was fine and the surgeon was very happy with the results."

Eurosport