Mancini replaced Walter Mazzarri at San Siro last month after a slow start to the league campaign, the 50-year-old's second spell in charge of the club.
His arrival has not had the impact on Inter's league form the club would have hoped for, though, and Inter sit 11th.
However, there were some encouraging signs prior to the mid-season break with Mancini's first win in their clash against Chievo, and a stirring comeback to draw 2-2 with Lazio.
Now the former Manchester City and Galatasaray boss is planning to strengthen in the transfer window, but does not envisage being given much money to work with due to UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
"It [FFP] does represent a big problem," he told Sky Sport Italia. "So we must do well in scouting to get ahead of big clubs who can afford top transfer fees.
"Inter have doing this for years and I think we need the courage to invest on strong young players, such as Mateo Kovacic.
"I hope it won't happen but we might have to sacrifice some big players to reach other targets.
"Inter need better players in certain areas of the team where we are lacking something.
"I don't know how long a road it will be. Inter started the campaign with certain objectives and it will be difficult to get into the Champions League, but we're not so far off."
