MILAN – The coach is confident that his team has what it takes to win Sunday’s derby. These were his thoughts in an exclusive interview to the Milan Channel earlier today and before facing the press:

“The derby is always a massive match and for us it represents the last chance to aim for the top positions in the table. We know that we possess the abilities to defeat Inter while recently I have seen them off the pace. I envy their position in the table, but there is still a long way to go this season and if we win tomorrow we can cut the gap. Had we not been a united squad, we would have fallen apart. The atmosphere at Milanello has always been one of confidence and calm. We have found an identity and balance in the team. We have not been good enough at putting games to bed this season, but we are a solid and compact unit. It would be nice to win without struggling too much however. Each one of us has to give our best. We could not afford to lose against Alessandria and we managed to win the game, but we should have killed off the contest. The players that I chose to start all deserved it. The team now has its own identity and has balance. We are solid and have character and are stronger than we were 4 months ago. The players have got used to the work-loads in training and this is a different Milan. We must take the chances that come our way tomorrow.”