New Inter Milan coach Frank de Boer said that he wants to bring the club back to "where they should be" as he aims to lead them into the Champions League next season.
De Boer signed a three-year contract with the Nerazzurri to replace Roberto Mancini, who was relieved of his duties after 20 months in charge on Monday, and was officially presented to the media at a news conference on Tuesday.
"I want to thank Inter for having appointed me at this great big club," De Boer said. "I want to bring this club to where they should be. I'm really happy to be here and I can't wait to meet the players and also the rest of the staff here.
"The season starts in two weeks' time and we're very excited and have to work hard. Of course it's not an ideal situation, that's clear, but still we have a very talented and experienced team. I'm pleased with what we have. We will be at one with the team and they need to believe in our philosophy like we believe in them."
De Boer insisted that he would take some time to get to know his current playing staff and decide whether or not he needs any additions, although he temporarily closed the door to any sales, including striker Mauro Icardi.
"First of all we don't want to sell our key players for sure and Icardi is very important and I want to keep all of our important players," he said. "Of course we analysed the squad very carefully, but we've got to see how things develop. I want everybody to stay right now and then in a few weeks we will see if we need anything else."
The Dutchman also insisted that Inter would be targeting Champions League football next season, ideally qualifying as Italian champions after stopping Juventus winning a sixth straight title.
"Nothing is impossible," De Boer said. "Juve have great players and it's going to be difficult, but our aim is to be as competitive as we can and to make their lives as hard as we can.
"Serie A has improved a lot in the last couple of years. The football played here is very modern now. What I saw around three years ago, the technical quality wasn't so great, but it's much better right now."
Inter's general manager Michael Bolingbroke also praised De Boer's "energy and enthusiasm" which "impressed us all."
"We need to bring Inter back to the position we belong in, at the top of European football," he said. "We want to win all the competitions we are in, but above all we need to get back into the Champions League. Let's hope we are back there in 2017-18. He only has two weeks to the start of the season so he has his work cut out."
De Boer conducted his first training session on Tuesday afternoon in preparation for his first game in charge, against Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday evening. He then takes the Nerazzurri to Limerick, where they will play Celtic in the final International Champions Cup game on Saturday.