Italy coach Antonio Conte says he is "no magician" and has admitted there is still a lot of work to be done ahead of Euro 2016.
Graziano Pelle's goal proved to be the difference as Italy beat Scotland 1-0 in Malta on Sunday, but Conte was under no illusions about the task his side still face leading up to their opening group fixture against Belgium on June 13.
"We put in plenty of effort and the pitch didn't help because it was terrible, but we're working hard and we've got to carry on like this," Conte told RAI television. "I liked our application, desire and determination, but we know we still have work to do and the road we are on is difficult. The important thing is we are aware of this."
Conte added that it would be asking too much to expect everything to fall into place within the next fortnight.
"I'm no magician," he added. "Let's just think of the positives: we haven't conceded, they never got a sight of goal and we've got back to winning ways. It's hard to sleep after a game like this because I've got so much adrenaline."
The Italy coach must name his final 23-man squad, reduced from a provisional list of 30, on Tuesday and Roma's Daniele De Rossi is one of the candidates to be cut. An injury picked up in the first half against Scotland may make Conte's mind up for him, but he would not reveal whether he had otherwise been impressed by the 32-year-old.
"You say you were impressed by De Rossi? Well let's just see if he also impressed me," Conte said. "I've thanked every single one of my players because I'm not going to see all of them on Tuesday.
"There are going to be some hard choices and I would like to thank all those I have to leave behind."
After opening against Belgium, Italy also take on Republic of Ireland and Sweden.