Inter boss Frank de Boer is under no threat of being sacked, the club's president Erick Thohir has insisted.
The Dutchman took over at San Siro just 12 days before the start of the campaign following the departure of Roberto Mancini and has endured a dreadful start, claiming just one league victory from three games as well as suffering a home Europa League defeat to Hapoel Be'er Sheva.
However, Thohir has moved quickly to affirm that Inter are behind their new manager, claiming the former Ajax head coach is "the right man".
"Unfortunately things didn't go as we wished in yesterday's [Thursday's] opening game in the Europa League," Thohir said on Inter's official website.
"Not only was the result very poor, the players' performance level was not as high as what we were expecting and what they are capable of.
"We must not get distracted in such a difficult moment and we absolutely must stick by Franck de Boer - he is the right man to develop this group of players and get them back to fighting for the positions that a club like ours deserves.
"We need to get our heads down and work hard. We need focus, faith, respect for our fans and guts to pick ourselves up. But we are Inter and I'm sure we'll do that."
Thohir's official statement came after Inter sporting director – Piero Ausilio – labelled reports linking ex-AC Milan boss Fabio Capello with De Boer's job as "nonsense".
He said: "I can say that it is nonsense. We need to talk less and work a lot because we are behind [in the league]. De Boer arrived a short while ago and he has not had much time to work with the whole squad.
"It is not easy to build something important without having a lot of time available. It needs patience."
De Boer's reign does not get any easier on Sunday when Inter face champions and league leaders Juventus at San Siro.
