Mancini still cautious

| Mon, 04/14/2008 - 08:53

Inter coach Roberto Mancini is still cautious about the Serie A leaders' title hopes even after Sunday night's 2-0 win over Fiorentina kept them four points clear of Roma with five games to go.

''All we can think about is winning them all,'' said the coach, whose biggest hurdle will be the Milanese derby in three weeks.

Mancini was pleased to say that Inter were firing on all cylinders after a rough patch that saw their 11-point lead cut from 11 to four from February to March amid an injury glut, a drop in form and uncertainty over the coach's future.

''We're in better physical shape and we're playing well,'' he said.

As usual, Mancini was loth to single out individuals but did have this to say about 17-year-old Mario Balotelli who scored his second goal in two starts to seal Sunday night's win:

''The coolness with which he goes into matches is extraordinary. He's got class and is still very young so he can only get better.

''At the moment he's only 50% of what he can become over the course of his career''.

Mancini's next league task is an away match at Torino but before that he has an Italian Cup semi-final first leg at home to Lazio Wednesday.

The coach will be without Balotelli and strike partner Julio Cruz, both disqualified, but is in any case expected to rest some starters ahead of the Serie A run-in.

Inter is reckoned to have a harder final stretch than Roma but Mancini isn't counting on the Romans - 3-1 winners at Udinese Sunday - slipping up.

''We have to make our own way without looking at who's behind us and how they do.

''A four-point gap can only be narrowed if the leader loses.

Here's what's in store for the top two (H=home, A=away):

Inter: Torino (A), Cagliari (H), Milan (A), Siena (H), Parma (A).

Roma: Livorno (H), Torino (H), Sampdoria (A), Atalanta (H), Catania (A).

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