AC Milan aren't old, says Allegri

Massimiliano Allegri has promised that Milan will show they are not old and slow, but rather a great team.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's match against Genoa, the charismatic tactician called for patience and a degree of realism after the signings of Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

“I expected a start to the season like this,” Allegri said. “It would have been a lot simpler if I'd had everyone available to me from July 20 without the international breaks.

“That way I would have been able to work better on the pitch, but I am calm. The difficulties here are different from those of the medium and small-sized teams.

“I heard from Berlusconi after the game against Catania. He is very busy with the government, but he follows the team with passion.

“It's true that we are actually five points behind Inter, but it's also true that we are in construction. We have the absences of Pato and Ambrosini. Moreover, I've had few opportunities to coach all the regulars.

“Pato is fundamental for this team. You say that this team plays badly, but maybe if we'd won on Wednesday in Rome the comments today would have been different.

“In reality, there are problems, but we are on the right road to improvement. I repeat, Inter's five-point lead doesn't worry us. The team still has a lot to do.

When asked if Milan are still too old to win the League, Allegri said: “We have the job of getting rid of this tag. The team is proud and it knows it. We want to show that we are not old and slow.

“There are intelligent lads here and great champions,” he concluded.