The Rossoneri coach on the eve of the match against Frosinone: “The meeting with Cardinale was very positive, I will always be grateful to Maldini”
Il Milan Of Stefano Pioli he dives back into the championship with the aim of putting himself behind him European defeat with Dortmund and to give continuity to last Saturday’s victory against Fiorentina. However, he will do it in full defense emergency, with the coach who could be forced to launch from the 1st minute 2005 Simic alongside Tomori: “I won’t tell you if he will play – the words of the coach in the conference -. Maldini? I will always be grateful to him, but I don’t feel left alone by the club. We are almost out of the Champions League, but there are 25 games left in the championship and if someone doesn’t believe they can reach Juventus and Inter they shouldn’t have shown up for training.”
THE PIOLI CONFERENCE
On Frosinone
“We will need a high level of play, Di Francesco is doing a great job and they will arrive with confidence and enthusiasm. We must give the best performance possible, giving continuity to the victory against Fiorentina. There are still many points to be scored.”
On lunch with Cardinale
“It was a very positive and very constructive meeting, an additional stimulus for everyone’s work.”
Su Simic
“He also worked with us this summer, he played for Real Madrid. He is an attentive and physical defender, I saw him calm. We are accompanying him in the right way, as we are doing with Camarda, but I won’t tell you if he plays or not from the first minute.”
On Maldini’s interview
“No comment on what he said. I will always be grateful to him and Massara, but now I can only throw all my energy into my work and into trying to win the next matches. I am not alone, I have always been supported by the club “.
On the approach to the match against Frosinone
“We have to bring our way of playing to the pitch. We haven’t worked much on the pitch these days, above all we had to recover our energy. The matches can be prepared, but then they have to be interpreted and we have to be more clear-headed in this aspect” .
On injuries
“The emergency will end soon. In the offensive department certainly, in the defensive one it will take a little longer. Kjaer won’t be there with Frosinone, but he could return the next one. In two weeks things will be better, although certainly today we are in an emergency.”
On how to get out of the no moment
“With winning, there’s no point in beating around the bush. We’ll need an intense, quality match. We won the last championship by playing carefully, we need to do it again. Victories give us enthusiasm. We need to look for solutions internally and demonstrate on the field that we’re a team competitive and capable of doing well.”
On his responsibilities
“The manager’s responsibilities are always there, but we are at a moment of the season in which it is too early to make assessments. We know that in the Champions League we have little chance, but we will play it in Newcastle. In the championship, however, there are 25 games left and if anyone didn’t believe to be able to reach Inter and Juve he should not have shown up for training. They all did it because they are paid to do it, but also because they believe in it. In all the negative moments we have experienced in recent years, compactness has been a resource, we will have to try to insist on this point.”
On possible defense solutions
“We tried some things that you don’t know, there are various solutions. We have the right ones to be balanced in all departments.”
On Thiaw’s injury
“It had an impact during the match against Dortmund, everyone knew that an important player would be missing. But my players know what it means to be a team, not to feel sorry for each other and to each give something more.”
Not yet on reactions at the moment
“It’s difficult to make comparisons with reactions in the past, with other players and at other times. It’s within ourselves that we need to find our security again, focusing only on the next match.”
On Leao’s recovery
“He will probably return to Atalanta, we will do everything to get him.”