Football
ESPN staff 6y

AC Milan manager Vincenzo Montella jokes he's been 'watching my funeral'

AC Milan boss Vincenzo Montella laughed off the pressure on his job, saying he has been "watching my funeral for a while" after his side drew 0-0 with AEK Athens in the Europa League on Thursday.

Milan have just one win in all competitions in seven games since the start of October, including defeats to Roma, Inter and Juventus, and failed to beat AEK for the second time in two weeks.

Montella has been under fire for the lack of results, but Milan are still in good position to advance to the Europa League knockout stage, and he was to joke about the speculation over his future.

"It was a delicate match today, the next ones probably will be too. Suso had a muscular problem, so I didn't want to risk him, but he'll probably play at the weekend," Montella told Sky Sport Italia.

"I've been watching my funeral for a while. It gives you a new perspective on things. All joking aside, the club has faith in me and we'll see."

Montella's job could be on the line in Sunday's Serie A clash away to Sassuolo, and the manager said he team was "eager to work."

"In all honesty, we need to work. I see the squad eager to work and there is quality there," he said. "A few weeks ago we created more, but allowed more in defence. Now we don't create as much, but also barely allow any chances for our opponents," he said.

Defender Leonardo Bonucci backed his coach's tactics after the bore draw.

"We are the ones who step on to the field, it's not just the ideas of the coach. We need to get results to bring back the enthusiasm we had this summer," he said.

"I see a lot of quality in this squad, but we lack a little bit of character and confidence to take more responsibility when the ball is at our feet."

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