Only a month after beating arch-rivals AC Milan for the first time in nearly two years, Inter Milan have collapsed into a new crisis and the "Curva Nord" is calling for the head of coach Claudio Ranieri.
Inter - who host Bologna on Friday (1945 GMT) - clocked up seven wins in a row in December and January, moving them within five points of leaders Milan.
But they have taken one point out of 12 since then, dropping 11 points behind champions Milan and slumping back into fifth place while also getting knocked out of the Italian Cup by Napoli.
More worryingly for their fervent band of supporters on San Siro's Curva Nord, they are six points adrift of Lazio who are third and occupy the Champions League playoff spot.
"The players and the coach are all under the microscope," Ranieri said at his pre-match news conference on Thursday. "It's natural that President (Massimo) Moratti wants us to win and progress.
"The matches which are just behind us were not inspiring, we took some knocks which left us on the deck. Now, we have to reverse the trend."
HARDCORE FANS
Inter slumped to a 1-0 home defeat against bottom club Novara on Sunday and the hardcore fans called for former Juventus and AS Roma boss Ranieri, only appointed in September, to be replaced by ex-England mananger Fabio Capello.
"It is important to support the young players, when there are rumblings of discontent at San Siro, the experienced players keep running but younger players can be affected by it," Ranieri added.
"Football is not always an exact science. Against Novara we played well but they hurt us with one counter-attack.
"We'll have to be more careful on Friday, because Bologna will try to attack on the break too."
It has been a topsy-turvy season for Inter, who fired Gian Piero Gasperini after only five games before turning to Ranieri.
He began with a 3-1 win at Friday's opponents Bologna, suffered three defeats in their next five games and then oversaw a big revival before presiding over a new slump.
Milan, who top the table with 47 points from 23 games, visit relegation-threatened Cesena (Sunday 1400) buoyed by their Champions League thrashing of Arsenal but with Zlatan Ibrahimovic suspended.
Juventus, a point behind in second place with a game in hand, host Catania (Saturday 1945) having drawn 0-0 at Parma on Wednesday. Lazio, third with 42 points, head to Palermo (Sunday 1945).
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Not exactly a credible story. Gives the impression that hardcore Inter fans want Capello at the helm when many fans who attended the Novara game expressed rejection of any attempt to appoint Capello. As for the demise of Inter, sorry for their fans but it's the normal state of things in Italian football and it's for the good of the country. Before Calciopoli, Inter were always lagging behind the clubs which are better organized and managed, and don't make knee-jerk signings and managerial appointments: Juventus, Milan and even Roma. Their most successful periods (early-to-mid 1960's, 2006-2010) coincide with some of the worst performances of the Italian national team (and it's not a coincidence actually). Italian football needs Juventus and Milan to be on top of their game for the national team to succeed. Inter are heading back to where they were before Calciopoli and apart from their fans, no one will miss that bleak Nerazzurri era.
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