FONSECA: ‘WE ARE IMPROVING, WE NEED CONTINUITY’ | OneFootball

Time for words at Milanello on the eve of Fiorentina v AC Milan, away and at a difficult place to go. Coach Fonseca's press conference ahead of matchday 7 of Serie A was broadcast live at 14:00 CEST on Milan TV and AC Milan Official App.

STRUCTURE AND CONTINUITY "Continuity is important at this point in the season. If the team's going well and improving, it's essential to maintain those foundations. It's not a matter of a lack of faith in others. A lot of them, including Loftus-Cheek and Chukwueze in this last game, are coming up and playing well, but now it's important to have a basis that is able to support the team's form."

AFTER LEVERKUSEN "It's true that we didn't win and the group was disappointed, but I've seen some good things this week. The boys have worked hard. Leverkusen are one of Europe's best teams right now, while we are in development and still have a lot of things to improve. It wasn't a character problem; the real AC Milan isn't near yet but we need to do more. I want the team to get as close as possible to what we saw in the second half in Germany."

ON FIORENTINA "Florence is always a tough place to play. They're a great team but we're ready to put in a good performance and, of course, we want to win. Every game is different; Fiorentina man mark, so our approach will be different too. It'll be a tough game. They have a lot of quality and are aggressive. Whether it's at San Siro or away, we always want to win. Tomorrow will be a big test and we need to build on what we've done in the league in recent weeks."

THE BACK LINE "In terms of Pavlović, the defence right now needs stability and Tomori and Gabbia are working well as the centre-back pairing, so Strahinja needs to keep working right now but he'll definitely get his chance. I think that Matteo deserved to be called up to the Italy squad; he's a real professional and I'm pleased for him. Mike Maignan is one of the group's leaders; he's always very balanced."

IN MIDFIELD "Fofana is an important player for us. He needed time to settle in, both to a new league and a new role. He didn't play in midfield in recent seasons; if he gets better, the team gets better, because the player in that position is the engine of the team. We're working with Musah to get him to be able to cover that position; with Bennacer out, we're light in that position and Yunus can play there. I'm confident in everybody and I know that we'll need every member of the squad."

AVAILABILITY AND ABSENCES "Morata is fine and ready to play. Calabria is feeling a slight niggle; he started with a calf injury and then strained the other calf. He is unavailable right now. Zeroli, Camarda and Zeroli will be in the squad tomorrow. I think it's important for me to speak about the players who are here: on Kalulu, I can say it was the player's choice. I like Santiago Giménez but I like Abraham and Morata more. Okafor has different traits than the role that Álvaro is in now. I'm pleased that Adli is playing well but I hope he doesn't tomorrow."

ATTITUDE "This team has always played as individuals, both in defence and attack, and changing this attitude requires time and work. Positional play is important and we need to keep improving in this regard. Now, however, we have a big game. You only really face teams that go man to man like Fiorentina here in Italy. Arsenal, Leverkusen and others struggled against Atalanta, who play this way, because they're not used to playing against teams like this. It's not easy for a coach; we've had to change a lot in just a few days."

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