AC Milan vs Cagliari preview - Stramaccioni talks up Inter

A furious Andrea Stramaccioni vowed his Inter Milan side will emerge as a force to be reckoned with in the long-term, ahead of Wednesday's trip to Chievo.

The focus has been on the dismal form of the Nerazzurri's rivals AC Milan in recent weeks but growing concern surrounds the form of Stramaccioni's new-look outfit following defeat to lowly Siena.

The Robur, still bottom of the Serie A standings, inflicted a second home defeat of the season on Inter thanks to goals from Simone Vergassola and Francesco Valiani, leaving Stramaccioni seething.

The young tactician told the Gazzetta dello Sport: "We don't want to lose matches in that way, matches that a good team like ours should not even be drawing 0-0 on a bad day.

"There's a time to sow the seeds and there will come a time to harvest the crops.

"But the better the sowing, the more bountiful the harvest will be. It was an ugly result for Inter and one that made us really angry.

"For someone like me, who does this job at a big club, I'm exposed to both positive and negative criticism.

"But we're in the middle of a cycle and I feel I should be judged at the end of it."

Inter have been a different prospect on the road, though, scoring 10 goals without conceding in all competitions.

Stramaccioni added: "Our problem isn't the defence, but it's the fact that we're a team that likes to attack a lot and finds itself exposed when the opponent fights back.

"This is something that we need to work on, without doubt."

Rodrigo Palacio will miss the next month through injury but returning Gabi Mudingayi and Joel Obi boost Stramaccioni's options in midfield.

Chievo received plaudits for their resolve against Juventus on Saturday night, goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino keeping Fabio Quagliarella at bay for over an hour before the former Napoli man grabbed two classy goals.

A bravura performance aside, the Flying Donkeys have lost three games on the spin and head coach Domenico Di Carlo is urging a swift resolution to the alarming run.

"Our good performances have been the most important thing, given the opponents we've faced," he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"We lost to Juve and Lazio who were higher than us in the league, so the defeat to Parma stands out more than the others.

"Now we have to look forward, and I expect a positive reaction against Inter."