Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella insists his time at Milan was positive and he recognises much of the criticism currently aimed at Marco Giampaolo.
It kicks off on Sunday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), click here for a match preview.
This is no ordinary game for Montella, as he was fired by the Rossoneri in November 2017.
Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella insists his time at Milan was positive and he recognises much of the criticism currently aimed at Marco Giampaolo.
It kicks off on Sunday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), click here for a match preview.
This is no ordinary game for Montella, as he was fired by the Rossoneri in November 2017.
“It was a fantastic experience, we won a trophy, which some people conveniently forget,” he said in his Press conference, referring to the Italian Super Cup against Juventus.
“We didn’t purchase practically any players and still qualified for Europe, which hadn’t happened for a few years. I don’t consider that a negative time at all.
“When I was at Milan, Suso, Patrick Cutrone and Davide Calabria were set to be sold. I think we did good work with homegrown talents like Manuel Locatelli and Gianluigi Donnarumma.”
Montella has left, but Gennaro Gattuso and now Marco Giampaolo are dealing with the usual criticism from fans and media.
“In our line of work, even one incident can completely transform people’s evaluation of you. There’s no getting away from it. At the same time, when you change the working method and tactics, not to mention quite a few players, it takes time. Milan didn’t do badly last season, they were one point off a Champions League place.”
The Viola beat Sampdoria 2-1 on Wednesday, finally ending their 18-match Serie A winless streak.
“The points are important for Fiorentina and we want to build on the victory against Sampdoria, but above all we showed over the last few games that our performances are certainly improving.
“Federico Chiesa has been extraordinary over the last couple of games and we hope he can maintain this level of consistency,” continued Montella.
“He can be a top level player on the European level. Chiesa is not a centre-forward, though, we moved him closer to the goal because he has pace and can shoot with both feet.
“Gaetano Castrovilli is also improving, but needs to have more attempts on goal. We need overall to improve in the way we control the game, as at times we get distracted and lose focus, something that has happened so far in every match.”