The Milan coach sopke about the difficult moment the team is going through but hopes to see a reaction against Verona. He said:

“We have some quality players up front and all of them have worked very hard throughout the week from all points of view. Now the only thing that matters is what happens on the pitch and tomorrow we have the chance to bounce back up the table and gain confidence. Verona play very well when they do not have possession and they have a very important player up front like Luca Toni. We have to play like Milan, try to play good football.”

Over the last week the club have been close to the coach and have tried to encourage the players.

“The fact that the president and Mr Galliani have been close to the team and the staff is something that helps Milan, they were useful encounters and were held for the good of the club. I always want to improve, there was a meeting with all the staff and all of us will work harder if and when it is necessary. The most important thing for me is the team and also the faith that the club has in me. What drives me forward is to prove the club that they did well to choose me this summer, the team are behind me and they are not influenced by others. We can play well or badly but what is important is that when the players take to the pitch they give 100%. Cerci is in good shape, I wanted him here, he has played 10 games and he will give us a big hand. I have five very important players and it isn’t easy to choose between them.”

One worry for Inzaghi and the staff is the increasing number of injuries to players. Now the coach will also be without De Jong and Montolivo. He said:

“I don’t want injuries to be an alibi because we have a squad that is capable of handling this. We have two important players like Montolivo and De Jong who are coming from different situations. De Jong did not go through pre-season training. I don’t think we have ever had seven players out because of traumas.Montolivo wanted to come back at all costs because he saw the team were struggling but you only come back from an injury like his after a year, year and a half, I have seen it myself when I was playing with Ferrara. There is no of finding out the cause of this situation, the only thing we changed was in Dubai where we cut down our work load because of the match against Real. Tomorrow we will probably have Abate back. De Sciglio is practically fully fit so we are starting to get some important players back. Abate is good and he could be called up for the match.

Inzaghi also addressed the rumours about his own position at the club and that of his staff. He said:

“I want to be judged for the results I get, I hope that Milan have faith in me as a person and also as a coach. I am absolutely convinced that I can still give Milan a lot, I feel the support of the president and of Mr Galliani, then whatever happens Milan will always remain special in my heart. Then of course I would like to coach Milan for the next 20 years, I am here to reaffirm that. I wanted Tassotti, we exchange ideas every day, he gave me a big hand and I don’t like reading that he wanted to hand in his notice because that is simply not true and I am sorry for Mauro because he is a great person and I fought for a month to keep him here at Milan.”