Stats Perform
·25 September 2019
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·25 September 2019
AC Milan coach Marco Giampaolo insists he is not wasting time thinking about whether he is at risk of an early dismissal after an unspectacular start to life at San Siro.
Giampaolo replaced Gennaro Gattuso in the close season after a positive spell with Sampdoria, but his impact has not been particularly remarkable yet with his new employers.
Of his four Serie A matches in charge, Milan have won two, both against promoted sides in Brescia and Hellas Verona.
They began the season with a 1-0 defeat to Udinese and lost Giampaolo's first Milan derby against Inter 2-0 on Saturday, with the Rossoneri's performance suggesting the gulf between the two rivals has increased.
But Giampaolo is not expending energy on worrying about his own future.
"No, I never think about these things when I'm training a team," Giampaolo told reporters ahead of Thursday's clash with Torino when asked if he already feels at risk. "I just think about doing my job well.
"Time will be my best friend and my biggest enemy. I know that with time I can do nothing but improve, then I must be supported by the results, because Milan has a great tradition, it has a huge history and millions of fans.
"I am aware of all of this, but I have to work with my time, without skipping steps. I go on consistently with my way of working."
Nevertheless, Giampaolo understands the negativity following the derby result from Milan fans.
"I can imagine the disappointment of the fans after the derby," he said. "In the derby we did some things poorly, but we did a lot of little things well. It's not all to be thrown away.
"We have a duty to get up and continue on our way. We are working well, have already put aside the painful knockout. I have nothing to reproach my players with."
Giampaolo has no doubt about which department of his team he is particular keen to see an improvement in, however.
He said: "We need to improve in attack. I work to make my players make the most of me, I have to have the skills and intelligence to put together all the offensive features of my players.
"We have to learn to play more in the opposing half of the pitch, this will also give us more shots at goal.
"I don't know where we will end up at the end of the season, it will depend on our growth. I have confidence in the improvement of the team, I have confidence in time."
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