Milan coach Stefano Pioli assures his future “is not a priority” and facing Juventus in the Coppa Italia semi-final is “the best possible” test to follow the derby defeat.
The first leg kicks off at San Siro on Thursday at 19.45 GMT, with the decider in Turin on March 4.
“The Coppa Italia is important for all prestigious clubs, as they all want to do well in this tournament,” Pioli told Rai Sport and Milan TV.
Milan coach Stefano Pioli assures his future “is not a priority” and facing Juventus in the Coppa Italia semi-final is “the best possible” test to follow the derby defeat.
The first leg kicks off at San Siro on Thursday at 19.45 GMT, with the decider in Turin on March 4.
“The Coppa Italia is important for all prestigious clubs, as they all want to do well in this tournament,” Pioli told Rai Sport and Milan TV.
“We have done well to reach the semi-finals, but that is not sufficient. We want to go all the way. The first leg will be very important to give us an advantage going into the decider. We must remain concentrated, sharp and with a better technical performance than with Inter.”
That 4-2 defeat in the Derby della Madonnina cranked up the pressure on Pioli and Milan, as they threw away a 2-0 lead in the second half.
“It was a heavy defeat considering the way it came about and the situations that were wrapped up in that fixture. It hurt us to lose a derby like that, but immediately playing another very important match against Juventus can only help us to shake that off.
“We have the quality to cause Juventus problems and facing them is the best situation we could’ve asked for after the derby. We are up against the best team in Italy and one of the best in Europe. It’s an opportunity to prove we’re on their level.
“There were so many positives in the first half of the derby and we showed that we are really getting close to that level of the very strong teams, so that ought to give us more belief in ourselves.”
Pioli was also asked about the on-going reports that Milan are looking for his replacement, with names from Marcelino to Max Allegri and Ralf Rangnick for next season.
“I am not interested. We have so many games to play and objectives to achieve, so my future is not a priority.”