Antonio Conte has come out in defence of Romelu Lukaku who has been labelled a "donkey" in Italy.
The former Manchester United forward moved to the San Siro for £75m in the summer and has bagged 14 goals in 18 games.
Two of those came in Inter's 3-1 win over Napoli which sent them top of Serie A, but the Italian manager was quick to remind people that the Belgian has been unfairly criticised since his transfer.
Conte chased Lukaku while at Juventus and Chelsea , but finally landed the striker who he believes is a "rough diamond".
He said: "I heard people say Lukaku was a donkey… I heard all sorts not even that long ago! It's easy to speak highly of Lukaku now, but if we look back to a few weeks ago…
"I always said Romelu was a rough diamond that needed work to smooth him out. Lautaro Martinez is the same. These lads are 26 and 22 years old, they are still young.
"I wanted Romelu very strongly when I was at Chelsea, even back at Juventus. I wanted him, now I can get to work on polishing the diamond."
Conte also had to deal with comments from Fabio Capello who felt his Inter team were primarily concerned with defending - an idea he rejected.
"I don't think Inter defended and went on the counter, as we tried to press Napoli right on the edge of their own area for the whole game,' replied the former Blues boss.
"I hear people always saying we play counter-attacking football, but this is a side that knows what it has to do every time it is in possession.
"We play knowing full well everything we have to do at any moment of the match. Fortunately, our opponents respect us more than the media seem to."
Inter's win at the Stadio San Paolo was the perfect response to Juventus' success earlier in the day and ensures their superior goal difference keeps them at the summit.
