Jose' Mourinho aims to hone his Inter Milan squad into a more manageable unit in his bid to earn the club's first European crown since the 1960s.
''There are too many of us,'' the ex-Chelsea coach said at training camp Monday.
''We have a load of strikers and I can't seem to get them to play the way I want,'' he complained.
Inter has five first-choice strikers fighting for a starters' berth, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic the obvious favourite.
The other first-choice tips are new signing from Roma Amantino Mancini and Mario Balotelli, the boy wonder who will get Italian citizenship a day after his 18th birthday on August 12.
But rejuvenated Brazilian Adriano and the ever-reliable Julio Cruz will press the trio hard.
But alongside the headaches of winnowing the classy front crop at his disposal, Mourinho is just as concerned at injury-enforced weakness at the back.
''The biggest bugbear since I arrived has been the absences of Christian Chivu, Ivan Cordoba and Walter Samuel,'' he said.
Mourinho said he was ''not disappointed'' that Frank Lampard had opted to stay at Chelsea despite a long, hard chase by his former boss.
''If he has decided to stay at Chelsea because he'll be happier there that's OK with me,'' the coach said.
Inter's transfer chief Gabriele Oriali said the arrival Lampard's fill-in Sulley Muntari from Portsmouth would be Inter's last signing this summer.
''Jose' wants to trim the squad down to 22 plus three goalkeepers,'' he said, adding that this would mean some ''painful farewells''.
On Tuesday Inter will have 45-minute encounters with AC Milan and Juventus, both teams who have impressed more than the Nerazzuri in friendlies so far.
''But these aren't real games and they have more to lose than we do,'' he said.
Juventus's ex-Palermo striker Amauri has looked particularly impressive while AC's big signing Ronaldinho hasn't really had a chance to show his stuff yet.
Amauri is expected to play alongside French veteran David Trezeguet with Alessandro Del Piero and Vincenzo Iaquinta waiting in the wings.
Milan will boast a dream Brazilian attack of Kaka', Pato and Ronaldinho as they bid to make up for last season's failure to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in seven years.
Inter, if Mourinho finds the right mix, are hoping the 'Special One' will bring their first European Cup since 1965.
