PIOLI: "MAXIMUM CONCENTRATION ON BOLOGNA"

After taking on D'Aversa's Parma, another side from Emilia-Romagna come to San Siro: Bologna, coached by ex-AC Milan boss Siniša Mihajlović. Ahead of this important clash, coach Stefano Pioli gave his thoughts on the home fixture. Here's what he had to say on the official AC Milan App.

ON THE STANDINGS
"There's no need for us at Milanello to get hung up on it. The boys know where we are but at the same time, we need to keep going and pick up as many points as possible."

ON BOLOGNA
Sinisa is doing a fantastic job. He always tries to make it a game and I'm sure that it will be a difficult match tomorrow. But we need to play well and take all three points home. It'll be a difficult game against a team that drew to Napoli. It'll be a great match from a technical standpoint."

PROGRESS
"I feel good at Milanello and with the boys. I found a brilliant structure and an ecceptional group of players. At the start of my time here, we worked hard to solidify our beliefs. We've put in a lot of work, bringing in new ideas and now we've become a team. I feel as though I'm talking a bit too much about the future. Now, it's more important to live in the present. These next few days will be really important; we don't have time to think about anything else. Our aim? We want to pick up as many points as we can, and then we'll see where we end up. Direct qualification for the Europa League would be important, but we need to overtake Roma on points, for this we'll need to know what we're capable of."

INDIVIDUALS
"Çalha and Kessie both have characteristics and the ability to make them good going forward and at the back. They're modern and intelligent players, who interpet both phases of the game correctly. Ibra? His next two training sessions will be important. He's doing well, we'll see if he starts or whether he comes on later."

THE CROWD
"It would be great to have the fans back at the stadium. We're lucky enough to have great fans, who have always supported us, even when things weren't going too well. Obviously, at the moment it's particularly important to take care, so for that reason I don't think it's possible this season, but hopefully for the start of next season."

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