(PHOTO: Coach Filippo Inzaghi speaks to the press at Malpensa)
MILAN - Milan arrived at Malpensa airport on Friday and coach Filippo Inzaghi gave a press conference where he started by discussing the fitness of his players on their return from the USA.
He said: “We have no injuries at all and these things can happen when you train little and play more and we have Menez back fit again. De Sciglio picked up a knock but myself and my staff are confident that the players are on the right track. We have to be ready for the season kick-off and of course we cannot get too carried away with our 3-0 win or get too down after our earlier defeats. We just have to think about improving. We have two difficult events coming up: the match at Valencia and then the TIM Trophy. Our objective is to be ready for the match against Lazio. As for the transfer market, everyone knows very well which players I want and the club agrees with me so it is only right that Doctor Galliani talks about the transfer market. This is a competitive squad and if someone else arrives so much the better otherwise we have this squad. De Jong will be back next week and then we will have Montolivo fit down the line. We have taken a lot of positives from this tournament and we found out that that likes of Niang, Cristiante and Saponara can play their part for the team.”
Moving on, Inzaghi looked at the current squad and their approach compared to last season, saying: “Fortunately, my lads don’t read that much and last season we finished eighth and there was a new coach so we need to have some patience. We will give everything in the league to reach a position where we deserve to be and the fans should know this. There are teams ahead of us but we have kept players who seemed to be leaving and we will give any team a hard time. These players will work hard and make sure the fans are behind us. Milan have given me so much and I am proud to be coaching them. I hope this is a positive year for Milan and for the fans as well as President Berlusconi, Adriano Galliani and Barbara Berlusconi.The best gift would be filling the San Siro again and we must do this on 31 August. I know how the Milan fans think and they will be back. Balotelli is doing well and his team-mates really love him. I have not found anything that has been said about him and he is very relaxed.”
Looking ahead to the new season, the coach had one clear aim: “The team comes first and the team that concedes the least goals will win the title. I would start from the compactness of the team which I saw the other night. We were a bit unlucky but I saw something positive even in the defeats. We will now get back to training at Milanello and the club are well aware who I would like to bring in. However, it would be unfair to name names. I am pleased with what we have anyway and three young players in Niang, Cristante and Saponara came through on the tour. We want young players but we must let them come through in a relaxed manner. My aim is make each player one hundred per cent secure in his role depending on the characteristics he can bring to the team.”