Ranocchia keen to start afresh at Inter

Andrea Ranocchia has spoken of his optimism for the new season, as the Italy defender prepares to start his second full campaign with Inter.

The 24-year-old joined the Nerazzurri from Genoa in January 2011 after building up a reputation with both the Ligurian side and Bari as one of Italian football's most promising young stoppers.

However, he could not establish himself in the team, with the likes of Lucio and Walter Samuel previously standing in the way of his route into the starting XI, while he appeared prone to making mistakes.

Nonetheless, Ranocchia started the 1-1 draw against Celtic on Saturday, and he hopes the match acts as a stepping stone towards finally making a name for himself at Inter.

"I feel good, I've worked so hard this summer to redeem myself," Ranocchia told Inter's official website after the game.

"Today, both teams on the pitch showed a lot of physicality, and I could feel it. We have improved greatly since July 3 [the start of pre-season]."

Ranocchia then turned his attentions to his side's upcoming Europa League preliminary clash with Hajduk Split on August 2, adding: "We must now prepare for our first official match in Split and we will be both mentally and physically ready.

"We did not want to lose against Celtic and if we had a few more minutes, we could have overturned the result."