Milan manager Conceicao still hoping to secure Champions League slot despite recent struggles
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Serie A - AC Milan v Atalanta - San Siro, Milan, Italy - April 20, 2025 AC Milan coach Sergio Conceicao reacts REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo/File Photo
AC Milan manager Sergio Conceicao urged his players stay focussed and not give up hopes of securing a Champions League place next season even though they are currently nine points adrift of fourth-placed Juventus.
With Juventus occupying the last Champions League spot having played a game more, the season is hanging on a knife's edge for Conceicao's side who have four matches left in Serie A.
Conceicao acknowledged that not much had worked this season for Milan even though they won the Supercoppa Italiana in January and will contest the Coppa Italia final against Bologna on May 14.
"We just need to work, it’s not like a change of system automatically fixes everything. The team showed it creates chances in every game, but we lacked balance and defensive solidity," Conceicao, whose side are languishing in ninth place in Serie A, told a press conference.
"We are working on all of this, not just as a team, but also the individual errors we cannot afford to commit at this level.”
The Portuguese manager provided some updates on injuries before their match at Genoa on Monday.
"Luka Jovic is feeling better, (he) had three training sessions with us, but Tammy Abraham has a fitness problem, so he is out along with Warren Bondo and Riccardo Sottil," he said.
"Kyle Walker is available, he knows how to play in the back three or as a wing-back."
Conceicao denied he would give up on the league to rest players for the Coppa Italia final.
"Every day that we come here, there is the responsibility of working for a club like Milan," he said.
"The Serie A table is what it is but we have the responsibility to prove our quality every day, to prove we are a different team from the one that we appeared to be at times."
