PIOLI: "QUALITY, SPIRIT AND HEART ARE NEEDED"
The Rossoneri host Benevento in their penultimate home game of the season as they look to recover from two defeats and relaunch their bid for Champions League football. On the eve of tomorrow's game at 20:45 CEST at San Siro, the Rossoneri's Head Coach Stefano Pioli held his press conference:
CURRENT FORM
"The debates are ongoing and it's right that this is the case. We were brilliant for half a season and haven't been as good in the girone di ritorno. Right now, we need more attention and determination. We're conceding too many goal and scoring less than we should. This team has always shown that it is hungry to improve. A group as young as ours has to show hunger and a capacity to react in these difficult moments. We're concentrating on tomorrow's game. I know that my words today mean very little; we have to show it on the pitch. Our objective is still to get back to winning ways and the team will play to improve in that aspect."
SUPPORT OF THE CLUB
"The support from the technical area has never waned. We're talking about people, who know football and what a busy and long season can do, and that these difficult comes do come along. The board's presence helps us to keep our concentration. I've always had the support of the Club, of the owners and of the technical directors. Our aim is to do quality work and attain great results. We'll only take stock once the season is over. I'm convinced with our good work, by the team and by the support of the Club."
THE RECIPE FOR THE END OF THE SEASON
"I think that the deciding characteristics of being a team are threefold: quality, spirit and heart. With these, we have shown that we can mix it up with anybody. If one of these drops, it becomes more difficult to reach an objective like the one that we're aiming for. We need to up the quality of our game but also have a great team spirit, together with a capacity to stay switched on for all of the 90 minutes. We need to find great energy; we know how hard we've worked to get here. These two recent defeats have hurt us but we need to believe in ourselves and in our quality. We need to control games better. I am coaching an intelligent group; the boys know full well what's at stake."
THE GROUP
"This is an attentive group, which is hungry to do great things. We sometimes haven't been able to: for example, we were out of it in the second half in Roma, but I have never seen them disengaged, or with little participation of calmness. In moments like these, it's right to be a bit tense. The chatter that surrounds us has always been blocked out; nobody's thinking about the future, our future is tomorrow. Ibrahimović? We know how important he is for us both in terms of his ability and leadership. We're pleased that he is available again; he's ready and will surely help us."
WHAT TO WORK ON FOR TOMORROW
"We've always worked to try and find solutions and not to place blame. We're working on various ways to highlight our recent problems, such as us not being clinical enough in front of goal. But not only that; I expect to see an improvement in how we transition from defence into attack. Tomorrow, we'll need to read the game well and know when to up the tempo or when to slow it down and control the game. We want to be in charge of our own situation, and we need to continue to grow for that to be the case.2
GETTING BACK TO GROWTH
"I think this is a really important time for our growth and us maturing. We need to believe in ourselves. Approaching these games with a clear plan throughout the 90 minutes can help us to have an advantage over our opponents. Tomorrow, we cannot think about the table; the only thing that will matter is doing better than our opponents. The only thought we need to have in our minds is to give our all and more, going beyond the limits that have seen us take some poor results in recent matches. We want to finish in the top four and we'll be disappointed if we don't manage that. But I have a lot of confidence in my players. We'll need to be determined tomorrow."
(Photo Getty Images)
