ANTONIO CONTE LAUGHED off a reporter who gave the Inter coach a tactical suggestion ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund.

The Italian side may be in fine domestic form as they sit second in Serie A and just a point behind leaders Juventus, but they have had a difficult start to their European campaign.

With one point from their first two games, Inter are three points behind Barcelona and Dortmund and in need of a good result at San Siro this week.

One journalist suggested Conte call upon 23-year-old right winger Valentino Lazaro and use him as an attacking midfielder in a 3-4-2-1 formation.

Lazaro has made just two appearances for Inter since joining from Hertha Berlin in July, coming off the bench in the second half against Slavia Prague before being given 20-minute cameo appearance against Sassuolo on Sunday.

But the former Italy and Juventus boss was in no mood to receive tips on coaching from a journalist, laughing as he snapped back: ”Thanks for your advice. If you want I’ll give you some advice for an article. Since you’re getting into coaching, my line of work, I’d like to give you some advice on yours.

Lazaro could not play there in a 3-4-2-1. We signed him from Hertha, a mid-table team and we have to factor in that players can struggle when they join a big team.

“We must have patience and confidence in him and I have.”

Consecutive defeats to Barcelona and Juventus disrupted Inter’s promising start to the season, but they bounced back with a 4-3 victory at the weekend.

While Dortmund may pose more of a threat than Sassuolo, Conte hopes his side can continue to improve.

“Beyond the results, I want to see improvements,” he added.

We know we must try to win this game. At the same time we know we face a strong opponent. We must give our all without having regrets in a serene and concentrated way.

“It will be important to approach the match well but also to manage the game. It’s important to manage all phases of the game, we just have to look at what happened against Sassuolo, especially in games like this where with the slightest error they will punish you.”