ROME - Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has warned coach Rafael Benitez that failure is not an option at the Club World Cup next week.

Inter leaves for Abu Dhabi on Friday and plays its first match next Wednesday against either host Al-Wahda or Seongnam Ilhwa of South Korea.

But with last season's treble winner sitting a lowly fifth in Serie A, 10 points behind bitter city rival AC Milan, and having finished second to Tottenham in its Champions League group following Tuesday's 3-0 defeat at Werder Bremen, Moratti has told Benitez to show his mettle.

"I don't want to create problems either before or during the Club World Cup but after we'll see," he said.

"Benitez has to have character because otherwise we won't win a competition like the Club World Cup.

"Psychologically, I felt bad about the defeat (to Bremen) but I didn't say anything to the players.

"When you lose you feel betrayed but that doesn't mean I think the players did it on purpose. I think we don't have enough character to overcome obstacles."

Last season character was one of Inter's main strengths under now departed boss Jose Mourinho and Moratti expects something similar from Benitez's team.

"We will pick ourselves up because we have an important appointment," he said.

"We need great psychological support so that the players start doing what they were doing before.

"(Benitez) needs to take hold of the team and make everything function like clockwork."

That last point sounded like a direct reference to Mourinho who was well known for his meticulous preparation, even planning training sessions to run for exactly 90 minutes.

Agence France-Presse