AC Milan's head coach, Sergio Conceicao, spoke to the media after Lazio's victory 1-2 at the San Siro.
Here's what he had to say in the post-match press conference:
"It's not easy. There are many incidents that happen, which then become decisive for the match. The environment wasn't easy for the players, and it showed: it's not that the players didn’t want to win, because you could see that in the second half; even when we were a man down, we tried to win the match, with one player less and two fewer days of rest than Lazio. We are the Italian team with the most games, and this needs to be considered as well. Losing like this isn't easy. We need to bring out our pride, work to the maximum, from all points of view. We need to find balance, compactness in the team, so that in moments like this we don't concede goals and can score in the last 30 meters. We could have scored the 2-1 before the penalty, if the freshness had been different. The attitude and desire to win were there, and that leaves me satisfied."
Did you think about taking a step back?
"What affects me the most are the players, seeing their faces, the disappointment, with great frustration. I am with them. I am here to defend my players and my locker room. If I need to work two or three more hours, I will. We are in a negative phase in terms of results and incidents. We keep working, strongly."
Would the players do the same for you?
"Yes, it's clear. If I didn’t feel that, I would say so."
Would you continue the project next year as well?
"I have a lot of things to think about, I have to focus on Lecce, I’m not thinking about anything else. I live day by day. The most important thing is Milan, not whether Conceição stays or doesn’t stay. I feel sorry for the fans, because I’m used to winning. This hurts. I am really hurt by these results. I don’t feel good at all right now. And what I do in these moments is work, even harder."
