Cesare Prandelli has insisted that the negative press surrounding his Italy side is completely unjustified.

Italy needed a second-half goal glut to overcome Armenia on Friday night in tricky World Cup qualifier.

Strikes from Andrea Pirlo, Daniele De Rossi and Pablo Daniel Osvaldo got the Italians over the line after a disappointing start.

Prandelli believes that critics of his side need to take a realistic view of his long-term plan for the Azzurri.

He told reporters: "The newspapers make it look as if we didn't put in a good performance, but that certainly didn't seem to be the case to me.

"We are coming off the back of the Euro 2012 final and because of that some people think we ought to win every match 3-0."

Italy continue their qualifying campaign on home soil in midweek with a tie against Denmark at the San Siro.

Written by
Liam Power