Riccardo Montolivo says Milan 'has what it takes' to reach third place, and praises a Jeremy Menez he now sees as ‘fundamental’ to the team.
The Rossoneri are currently sitting seventh in Serie A, but are only two points away from the third place currently held by Lazio.
Speaking in an interview with Sportmediaset, Montolivo has said that he is confident his team can make good on closing that gap.
“As far as the squad goes, this team has what it takes to challenge for third,” said the Italian international.
Riccardo Montolivo says Milan 'has what it takes' to reach third place, and praises a Jeremy Menez he now sees as ‘fundamental’ to the team.
The Rossoneri are currently sitting seventh in Serie A, but are only two points away from the third place currently held by Lazio.
Speaking in an interview with Sportmediaset, Montolivo has said that he is confident his team can make good on closing that gap.
“As far as the squad goes, this team has what it takes to challenge for third,” said the Italian international.
“But this is not the time for proclamations. We must stay humble and work.
“[Coach Filippo] Inzaghi gives us a great drive, he is an absolute motivator. And he's an excellent Coach. His best quality is his ability to learn quickly from the advice he is given.”
The former Fiorentina midfielder believes that Inzaghi's influence was also important in the development of players like Jeremy Menez.
“He is a great player, I think the Coach had a hand in it, but he's becoming fundamental to the team.
“As for [Mattia] De Sciglio and [Stephan] El Shaarawy, when a young player gets into the first team, often they experience important variations in their performance.
“Mattia and Stephan are undergoing a period of adaptation, they must calmly find their balance again to return to the levels they had us used to.”
Finally, Montolivo had a few words about his injury, which forced him out of the World Cup and kept him out of the pitch for almost the entire first half of the season.
“It was a long wait, and psychologically it was very difficult for me. From the first day, when I was in London with a broken tibia, I had my mind to the return on the pitch.
“And I must say that my coming on against Udinese was very exciting, it was almost like a second debut.”