Milan sporting director Massimiliano Mirabelli insists Vincenzo Montella “is a great Coach” but “unfortunately the results were what they were”.
The former striker was sacked yesterday, and the director spoke about the decision at the presentation of his replacement, Gennaro Gattuso.
“We didn’t even argue when I told him about his sacking, I have a wonderful relationship with Vincenzo,” Mirabelli said in the Press conference.
Milan sporting director Massimiliano Mirabelli insists Vincenzo Montella “is a great Coach” but “unfortunately the results were what they were”.
The former striker was sacked yesterday, and the director spoke about the decision at the presentation of his replacement, Gennaro Gattuso.
“We didn’t even argue when I told him about his sacking, I have a wonderful relationship with Vincenzo,” Mirabelli said in the Press conference.
“We gave him 23 games to see results in the soul of the team, we hadn’t seen that – or rather we saw too many delays – and we came to this decision.
“The affection remains, as well as the conviction that Montella is a great Coach.
“It’s too easy to talk after the fact and say what is and isn’t right. He was our choice, and in our opinion he is and was a great Coach.
“Unfortunately the results were what they were and we decided to change. We hope to turn the page today and start a new league campaign.
“It’s not like we got uneasy against Torino and that was it. We were making assessments between the league and the Europa League and we thought it was right to do what we did on Sunday. It wasn’t just the Torino game.
“We haven’t seen the true value of our squad because we know we have a fairly competitive squad.
“It’s too early to assess the transfer campaign, we wanted to invest in good, young players who would be able to form a valid group and represent a good cycle in Milan’s history.
“We knew the risks at the time, but we’ll wait to the end to do our sums.”
Mirabelli was then asked why Gattuso was chosen.
“Because he knows the team well. Rino has important characteristics, not just in transmitting the Milan DNA, but in concepts which I like very much. He can give us something important.
“I think not only the new players but the whole squad have done less than expected. We gave them time, 23 games.
“Now we hope that, with his determination and expertise, Rino can get the quality out of these players that we all know they have.”