AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli: “Maignan? It’s hard to say when he’ll be back, it’ll be a long time”
The Milan di Pioli restarts from Salernitana in Serie A. At the Arechi, at lunchtime, the Rossoneri can’t go wrong in trying to mend the gap with leaders Napoli, but they have to deal with the emergency injuries from Maignan to the forwards Rebic and Origi they will force Giroud in overtime after the World Cup: “I’m primarily responsible, we’re trying to figure out how to resolve the situation – admitted the Rossoneri coach -. Mentally we’re charged up, we need to get back to playing because we’re hungry to win again”. Absolutely absent Maignan: “We can’t say when he’ll be back, the scar hasn’t healed and we can’t upload the work”.
Will it be a new championship?
We will begin to touch this situation firsthand from tomorrow. Something anomalous for everyone, after having played only part of the first leg. The most important thing is to get off to a good start tomorrow, restarting with the same desire and quality as always.
How is Milan doing?
Our mood is oriented towards the Salerno match. We have great desire to play this match, what I see is this. We’ve had important recoveries and a few too many injuries, but I think we’ll have more recoveries next week. The team needs to play and in the friendlies we made we focused on particular situations to improve.
How are the veterans from the World Cup?
I found everyone well both mentally and physically. The rest allowed him to get over the disappointment for those who lost the final at the World Cup, and they are available.
How is the team physically?
The team arrives well and is doing well. We went 50 days without playing and now we will have many, but it applies to everyone. The physical key presses a lot right now, but it’s always the quality of the game and the head that makes the difference. There we want to be better than the others.
How hungry is this group?
The goal is to be competitive, but we don’t have to make the race on anyone but ourselves. We need more than 85 points to win the championship and we can finish the first leg better than last year, but we’ll need to be strong. We mustn’t think too far, but think about Salernitana because we will play against a tough opponent and in a warm environment. We are not interested in the other results.
What did you say to the French vice-world champions?
I complimented them because they proved their worth. They were satisfied to return to Milanello and it is certainly positive for us.
When can Maignan return?
It’s not possible to say at this moment, it certainly won’t be a short thing. Everything tells us that we cannot load the work.
How hungry is Pioli?
We are in the running for four goals, we certainly want to win something. We made history by winning the Scudetto, but we want to stay there and to do that we have to keep winning. If we want to consider ourselves a winning team we have to believe we can still win. We are hungry.
What do all these injuries depend on? Who was wrong?
I am primarily responsible. We are working to decrease this number because we don’t like it.
Is Milan struggling to be compact?
It is certainly one of the five situations on which we have concentrated and on which we need to work better.
Adli played a lot in friendly matches: what does he lack to be important in the league?
By playing he raised his level, letting those who found less space play was the goal of the friendlies. He has to grow in many situations, but I rely on him even if we have many possibilities in that position.
Something went wrong with Maignan’s recovery? Do you expect important answers from those who have used the least?
I don’t care what they tell me from France about Maignan, for our assessments we can’t force on his injury. Today I have 23 players available and that’s enough to face the challenge in Salerno.
Has the second goalkeeper changed? Who will play in attack?
In friendlies I gave everyone playing time, but the second is Tatarusanu. I trust him and Mirante. Giroud is back from the World Cup and is doing well, then I have other solutions like Lazetic and De Ketelaere.
Will a reinforcement arrive in attack?
I don’t think Origi and Rebic’s injuries are long, but I don’t need to solicit the management. If there is a chance to improve the squad, they will.
Will Inter-Napoli be decisive if Spalletti’s team wins?
Important yes, but not decisive. We have to look at our things, because it’s useless to look at others if we don’t do ours.
How tough will it be in Salerno?
I have no doubts about the mental aspect of my team. We will have difficulties against Salernitana because they have created difficulties for all the teams, but we will certainly face the challenge as best we can. I trust my players a lot.
Was De Ketelaere able to redo his training with Milan?
It started well, then it paid off physically. He worked well at the World Cup and I’ve seen him grow even with us. I expect improvements from him.
