Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi admitted his team is feeling the strain of a demanding season after their 3-0 defeat to AC Milan in the Coppa Italia semi-finals on Wednesday.
With the Serie A and Champions League titles still on the line, Inzaghi said he is worried after a second straight defeat following Sunday's 1-0 league loss to Bologna, but urged his players to overcome the setbacks.
"Of course (I’m worried). We're not used to losing two in a row," Inzaghi told SportMediaset, according to Reuters.
"We need to analyze both defeats the right way. We didn't deserve to lose in Bologna, and tonight we ran out of energy in the second half.
"We have to keep going. There's both physical and mental fatigue. We need to be stronger than all of that.
"This journey has brought us a lot of joy, but also some disappointments, like tonight. We should've done better. We lacked sharpness in both boxes at key moments of the game."
The Italian manager insisted that a packed schedule is no excuse, while his team must regain confidence for the final stretch of the season and ahead of hosting AS Roma on Sunday.
"We've had a more packed schedule than others, but again, it's not an excuse," Inzaghi said. "If we didn’t make it to the (Cup) final, it means we didn't do enough.
There’s one month left, and we have to keep going with confidence. Tonight, Milan deserved it, and it’s only right that they’re going to the final.
"We'll try to bounce back and give it our all on Sunday against Roma."
As Milan reached the final with a 4-1 aggregate win, coach Sergio Conceicao said he was confident his team could beat bitter rivals Inter, despite a disappointing season that has them sitting ninth in Serie A, 20 points behind Inter and Napoli.
"I've had the feeling since the game against Atalanta," Conceicao said referring to Sunday's 1-0 league loss.
"The small details are important. I liked the attitude and the tightness of the team in defense and attack.
"The team has quality, but also humility and a desire to win every game."
Milan will play against Bologna or Empoli for this season's only title and their first cup since 2003.
"Our feet are on the ground, we haven't won anything yet," Conceicao added.
"We have to play a final and make a difference at the end of the league to help our image. We have more quality than what we have shown."
