Stefano Pioli suggested that ‘expectations have risen’ at Milan after the draw with Napoli and admitted that the ‘last two weeks have been difficult’ due to the various injuries.
The Rossoneri had been hot on the heels of league leaders Inter at points this season and even took the top spot briefly, but a loss to Juventus and draw with the Partenopei have seen them lose a little steam since the international break.
Milan will be looking to bounce back with a win on Saturday evening when they host a struggling Udinese, who are circling dangerously close to the relegation zone after failing to secure a single win in their first 10 outings of the season.
Speaking in a press conference via TMW, Pioli first discussed the draw with Napoli and if the bar had been raised for Milan.
“Yes, but it’s normal, when a team goes 0-2 after that first half, it was reasonable to expect to win. That wasn’t the case.
“It’s a shame about the goal conceded at the start. But that’s in the past now, what matters is tomorrow. It’s right that expectations have risen.”
He provided an update on his injured players.
“Loftus-Cheek is well and will be there, Pulisic won’t be there tomorrow as a precaution but that will be against PSG, as will Chukwueze. Kjaer has a good chance for Tuesday.”
The Italian coach commented on the quality of his squad this term.
“I am absolutely certain and certain about one thing: I have never had, not even in the year of the Scudetto, such a compact, cohesive, eager and available group and also in such a short time.
“I told the boys, we have to take advantage of this luck.”
He spoke about the criticism he and the players have received in recent weeks.
“It’s normal for us to be criticized and for me to be criticized if Milan don’t win for three games. We have to work to improve, because out of three direct clashes we haven’t won even one, we have to raise our level.”
Pioli was asked to provide an update on Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s possible return to the club.
“I don’t know. At Milanello I work with a lot of people, I often speak with Moncada and Furlani and the club is structured to support us. If the club and Zlatan decide to create other situations…
“You know how much respect I have for him, for me there’s no would be problems. I’m a lucky coach, the club always puts me in the ideal conditions to do my job.”
He suggested that Luka Romero could feature against Udinese.
“I thought he could have a greater impact against Napoli, because he always trains very well. He’s a solution for tomorrow, then we’ll see.”
He gave his thoughts on the recent injury crisis.
“The last two weeks have been difficult with injuries one after the other. We will soon improve this situation, but tomorrow we will have some problems, especially in the defensive department.”
The Milan coach confirmed that a defensive reinforcement would be picked up in January.
“We lost two defenders, I’m talking to the club so that a defender can arrive in January.”
Pioli spoke about how Milan can take that extra step forward.
“We have not lost enthusiasm and we are not presumptuous, improving comes from playing matches with a mentality.
“Tomorrow we will find an opponent who will sit very deep, we will need to make logical choices.”
He was asked if he was satisfied with his squad.
“I am very satisfied with the group that has been created and with a certain identity that we already have. But we still have ample room for improvement, both on an individual and collective level.”
The Rossoneri boss touched on the difficulties of facing Udinese.
“The difficulties will be finding the right spaces, because they will likely stay very deep. We have to play a lot in their half of the pitch, with clarity, patience and frenzy, as well as with a lot of compactness.”
He had high praise for Olivier Giroud.
“My opinion on the man and the player is top. I have coached great centre forwards: Zlatan, Klose, Gilardino… He has a very high level.”
Finally, Pioli was asked if he was worried about the ‘actual playing time’ against Udinese.
“The referee will have to be very attentive and good at understanding these situations, we have to think about ourselves.”