Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella spoke to the press ahead of his side’s clash against Milan at the Stadio Artemio Franchi tomorrow night: On AC Milan: “They have a wealth of history behind them but they’re going through a tough time at the moment. However, if I remember rightly, Milan beat us last year when they were in a similar situation. They have some potentially decisive players such as Menez and Cerci, so if we aren’t completely focused then they can cause us some problems.” On his opposite number tomorrow night: “To become a great coach you have to go through the hard times as well. The expectations around Inzaghi were sky high when he took charge. If you look at it a certain way, having to tackle and overcome problems right at the start of your career can be beneficial in the long run.” On his squad’s fitness situation: “None of Gomez, Pizarro and Savic are in the squad for tomorrow night’s match and Tomovic is suspended. Borja Valero trained normally and is fit to play. Some players can’t play every game – some can play four in a row but some need to have a rest – so that’s something I have to evaluate.” On how to deal with absentees in defence: “I’m relaxed about the defence, despite the absences of Savic and Tomovic. Obviously, that forces players like Gonzalo Rodriguez and Basanta to play more games without a rest, so we’ll all need to put in extra physical and psychological effort to come through this spell.” On talk of tiredness in the squad: “We’re not tired and I don’t want to make any excuses whatsoever. I’ve got a great team here, a great group of players. When you play at a certain level, having to contend with intense periods of matches is part and parcel of the game. We’re fighting on a number of fronts so I’ve told the players we need to be putting in maximum effort. The most important thing is that we don’t rest on our laurels. We need to give 100% to keep our season on track and try to improve where possible.” On Alberto Gilardino: “I know that Gilardino is intensely motivated and has been working hard since the very first day he arrived here. He lives to score, even in training. The only reason he’s not played so far is that I didn’t think his characteristics as a striker were suited to the matches in question. He’s undoubtedly one of the best in-the-box strikers in Italian football.” On the club’s long-term absentees: “Giuseppe Rossi is not training with the group yet so I think it’ll take a bit of time still, but he’s recovering well. Bernardeschi is training with the rest of his team-mates and has put his injury behind him. When you come back from an injury you’re full of enthusiasm, but some days you’re forced to take it easy. I hope he can keep training consistently, as he’s doing at the moment.” On the form of Josip Ilicic: “He’s really motivated and clearly wants to prove what he can do. He puts maximum effort in every day in training. He’s a very intelligent player on the pitch, but perhaps he’s lacked consistency in the past. Having said that, I really feel like he’s part of the squad now, psychologically speaking.”
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