Ranieri salutes five-star Inter

Inter Milan manager Claudio Ranieri labelled his side’s 5-0 Serie A victory over Parma on Saturday as the best of his tenure at the San Siro.

The former Roma and Chelsea boss commended his players following their five-star performance against Franco Colomba’s men, and feels their stuttering campaign is back on track.

“I think it was the best [performance] of my Inter reign, especially in the first half, we were very careful and we played the game well,” Ranieri told reporters.

“Now we are smiling. You can see that the lads are not finished and they want to straighten out a season which started badly.”

Despite their emphatic win, speculation is likely to step up a notch over the futures of duo Wesley Sneijder and Diego Forlan, after both were absent from the team.

Ranieri maintained that the pair is still part of his plans, and hopes they can contribute against AC Milan on January 15.

“We are in good condition to face Milan, and the holidays have recharged our batteries,” Ranieri added.

“Sneijder can’t be one of the two central midfielders in our 4-4-2 because he does not have the attributes (to do so).”

“He and Forlan are two of our major players, but they will have to adapt to the mentality of the team in the coming months. I hope that they can both can recover in time for the derby.”

The win saw Inter consolidate fifth position in Serie A, while Parma remain 13th but could slip down the standings depending on Sunday’s results.