Inter coach Walter Mazzarri can go into tomorrow’s Serie A match at home to Sampdoria comfortable in the knowledge he enjoys the backing of club president Erick Thohir.

A poor run has led to widespread speculation over Mazzarri’s future and the names of Sampdoria coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, Udinese’s Andrea Stramaccioni and former Everton and Manchester United boss David Moyes have all been churned up by the rumour mill as possible replacements.

A controversial 1-0 win at Cesena on Sunday, however, eased the pressure and Thohir denied in a statement that Mazzarri had been given any ultimatum, contradicting earlier comments attributed to him in his native Indonesia.

“When I was in Italy on my last trip, I explained and stressed several times how much I believe in our coach and the team, in this project,” said Thohir on Inter’s website (www.inter.it).

“I’ll say it again now. Obviously results are important but we’re not counting down games for anyone, clearly some of what I said has been misinterpreted.

“I’m very happy with yesterday’s result, the team played with heart and determination. I hope we consistently see performances like that.”

Earlier, Thohir had told Indonesian media that he was still mulling over Mazzarri’s situation.

“We have to be fair to the coach. We’ll see in the next two games, although changing the coach is not a good solution,” he was quoted as saying.

“We’d like to give him the opportunity first. There have been lots of rumours about coaches, and obviously we will find the best coach for Inter.”

Inter’s three previous league games were a 4-1 home defeat to Cagliari, a 3-0 loss to goal-shy Fiorentina and a 2-2 draw with Napoli, and Mazzarri said the players clearly felt the pressure on Sunday.

“We really needed this win,” said the irascible former midfielder, adding that he would rather have played the whole match against eleven men.

“I know they were desperate to win and prove themselves, but at times you have to be calmer and take your time and make the right decision.

“We could have had tried more long-range shots but they sometimes seemed determined to walk it into the net.”

“If Thohir wants me to stay, that’s fine, if not, I’ll be on my way,” he added. “That’s how it’s always been in football.”

Inter are joint eighth alongside Genoa with 12 points from eight games while Sampdoria are joint third with 16.

Juve head into their midweek encounter at Genoa still unbeaten and in buoyant mood.

The Turin giants bounced back from last week’s 1-0 defeat to Olympiakos in the Champions League with a 2-0 home triumph against Palermo on Sunday.

Goals from Arturo Vidal and Fernando Llorente allowed Juve to regain their three-point advantage at the top of the standings after second-placed Roma were held to a goalless draw at Sampdoria.

Tomorrow, Roma host Cesena.

Serie B: Bologna vs Trapani 2-1.

Programme

Today – 20.45
Sassuolo vs Empoli

Tomorrow – 20.45
Atalanta vs Napoli
Cagliari vs Milan
Fiorentina vs Udinese
Genoa vs Juventus
Inter vs Sampdoria
Palermo vs Chievo
Roma vs Cesena
Torino vs Parma

Thursday – 20.45
Verona vs Lazio