TASSOTTI’S PRESS CONFERENCE

(IN THE PHOTO: Coach Mauro Tassotti during the pre-match press conference)MILANELLO – Please see below the latest from coach Mauro Tassotti’s press conference yesterday ahead of Milan-Spezia:Speaking about the opposition Spezia: "Tomorrow is an important match. It seems the best way to get back into Europe. In the league we’re behind. Tomorrow we won’t experiment too much. It’s a difficult time, but the players need to understand that tomorrow is a vital match. We need to take advantage of the occasions that come our way against Spezia and try to go all the way in the competition. It’s a delicate moment for the club. We will have to be careful. Spezia have some good players and a great coach. They will have lots of their fans cheering them on and perhaps our fans will be angry. The Italian Cup is the best route to qualify for Europe."There were naturally questions about the dismissal of Massimiliano Allegri: "A dismissal is never easy to take. The atmosphere was very sad. We’re in a privileged position, but it wasn’t an easy time for us. At the end of the day, the coach pays the ultimate price, but we the staff also share the responsibility. By now it’s too late. We had plenty of chances to turn things around. The dismissal was inevitable. Yesterday was hard and sad to see Allegri clearing out his locker. The results are what hurt us the most. The defensive problems? Last year we also started badly and recovered in the second part of the season, only losing to Juventus and Barcelona. We played differently and better. This year we started better, but we changed the way we played compared to last year. We lost some important players and we’ve made the situation hard for ourselves. Unfortunately things haven’t gone the way we planned and we haven’t been able to sort it out."Asked about possible replacement Seedorf, here is what Tassotti had to say: "I’ve been here 34 years and I’m committed to the club. I can give my contribution and it seems logical to confirm my commitment. I don’t know anything about Seedorf. What Allegri said is true. There have been fantastic footballers who have coached for a couple of years only to then realise they’re not up to the job. Of course, Seedorf has the qualities in place to do well, he’s got great character and this will help him a lot. A change in coach can certainly change things, but the players also need to play their part. I haven’t got any advice for Seedorf. He knows the Milan set-up as well as me. If he wants to know the current situation of the players, I’m happy to bring him up to date."Coach Tassotti put the match ahead of his future with the club: "The thing that has worried me the most has been the injuries. This needs to be looked at in my opinion. I chose to be an assistant. I had the chance earlier to be a head coach, but I preferred to stay here. I’ve got no regrets about it. The players need to understand the current situation. They need to fight for every inch. We can’t perform like we did at Sassuolo. To concede 4 goals in that manner is unacceptable. Without taking anything away from them, our attitude was all wrong. We expect the side to react. The side can play a couple of formations. I have a contract until the end of June and I remain committed to Milan. In June the club and I will talk. However, none of this is important, the most important thing is tomorrow’s match."Mauro Tassotti had this to say about individual players: “Pazzini will play tomorrow. In defence we will see and Rami has a good chance of playing. We’ll make sure Honda plays in his role. Abbiati will play tomorrow. We’re happy with Honda and the minutes played against Sassuolo. He showed his technical abilities and his danger in the final third of the pitch. Kakà and Honda can play together. Birsa and Abate are recovering. We’ve never had Abate and De Sciglio together at the same time. They’re vital players to our game."A final word was reserved for the club’s management: “The club has always been close to us. The squad need to understand that you play in 11 for the good of the team, not for individual glory. Despite a difficult first part of the season, the club has always been there. We need to just focus on getting points.”