Inter Milan coach Claudio Ranieri says there can be no excuses after their defeat to Novara.

There were complaints in the first half over a Garcia sliding tackle on Andrea Poli in their 1-0 loss.

"As Vujadin Boskov used to say: It's a penalty when the referee blows the whistle. We won't cling to excuses," replied Ranieri.

"Every game is different. We knew that we were facing a team that would clam up and go on the counter, so we tried to go around them to find a space. However, we kept plenty of possession and then lacked another striker to finish the moves off.

"Giampaolo Pazzini had flu this week, so I introduced him only for the second half. We pushed hard and did everything we could against a team that defended very well, but on one of their counter-attacks Andrea Caracciolo scored a great goal.

"We had about 20 efforts and hit the woodwork again, but things just aren't going our way at the moment. We have to stand by these lads and keep working.

"Sneijder is a champion who has to rediscover his match fitness and we must in turn remember how to give him the right service. We did everything today except score a goal, which is frustrating. How can I criticise any of them for their approach to the game?

"I checked the 13 games here and we did very well when I played with three forwards, so this is a team that needs to play with three attacking figures."