Pippo Inzaghi thanked Milan for “standing by my side” after a Coppa Italia exit to 10-man Lazio. “We didn’t deserve to lose.”
The Rossoneri announced they will not sack the Coach even after their quarter-final elimination on home turf to a side down to 10 men for the entire second half.
Pippo Inzaghi thanked Milan for “standing by my side” after a Coppa Italia exit to 10-man Lazio. “We didn’t deserve to lose.”
The Rossoneri announced they will not sack the Coach even after their quarter-final elimination on home turf to a side down to 10 men for the entire second half.
“I am disappointed to have lost a game we absolutely did not deserve to. We were unlucky in certain incidents, the team gave all it had,” Inzaghi told Rai Sport.
“We are not doing what we are capable of right now, but we have to keep on working. Today my friend told me that Sir Alex Ferguson took seven years to win his first League title. Not that I’m comparing myself to Ferguson, of course. Mancini, the guru of Coaches, is also struggling.
“I hope that we will soon get back to being the Milan of old. I think we played on a par with a Lazio side that is targeting third place. On Saturday I felt it was the right result, but we did better tonight and created more chances. Pazzini’s goal was disallowed, Cerci’s one was dubious.
“Incidents seem to keep going against us, in all senses. I told my players unfortunately we don’t have the Coppa Italia anymore, so from Sunday we focus on returning to Europe via Serie A.
“We did well tonight. It’s hard to keep consistent when Montolivo was out for three months, De Jong is in and out and Van Ginkel was sidelined for a long time too. Bonaventura would’ve been useful tonight with his characteristics, we asked Honda to grit his teeth as he returned from Australia on Sunday.”
Salvatore Bocchetti flew in for his medical tonight, while Mattia Destro could arrive on loan from Roma.
“Having a striker in the box with Menez can give us an advantage. I’d be worried if the players didn’t follow me or give their all. My analysis right now is that we can’t stay consistent, as every game we bring one player back from injury and lose two more. All these injuries also mean they take time to get match fitness.
“I have the club at my side, hope they’ll give me the chance to work and together we can emerge from this together.”
Philippe Mexes was left out after attacking Lazio captain Stefano Mauri at the weekend, although his four-match ban only applies to Serie A games. Is his Milan career over?
“Mexes has given me a lot. He made a mistake at the weekend, but he regretted it. We decided along with the club it was right not to play him tonight, he will sit out his ban, but these things do happen.
“I saw last week Cristiano Ronaldo did something not dissimilar. When the ban is expired, Mexes is certainly still part of my plans.”
Inzaghi analysed Milan’s disastrous campaign and implied the club promises of targeting third place probably didn’t help.
“We gave people false expectations. I tried to keep our feet on the ground, as I knew where we were coming from and that it would not be easy.
“I think when all our players are available and we have more options on the bench, we can play better and hopefully get back into Europe.
“At Milan there is a rush to do everything straight away and I am the first to be hasty. I am the first to be upset when Milan don’t win, but we must take into account that nobody has a magic wand to change everything.
“President Berlusconi and Galliani have faith in me and believe in my professionalism. I will give everything for this jersey, but I knew it would be tough. That’ll mean bringing Milan back up to the top will feel even better.
“If they don’t kick me out, I’ll happily stay at Milan for life. This is the bench I always dreamed of, many people believe in me and nobody can ever say I don’t give heart and soul for Milan.
“If that is enough, then great. I do this job because you can constantly learn and grow, while it is wonderful to see the players care for me. I am getting a few more grey hairs, though! I’m ageing quicker as a Coach, but that’s normal!”