Stefano Pioli has never been under so much pressure since he took the reins at AC Milan, but the feeling is that he has kept his job for now purely because there are no obvious replacements.
According to Corriere dello Sport (via MilanNews) this morning, Pioli is in the dock as are his staff, because the issue of injuries is central to the analysis of Milan’s season up to this point. How would it have gone with a full squad and not continually beaten down by physical problems?
In the next matches the focus will be on Pioli and Milan is starting to have pressure from the teams immediately below in the table: Bologna are at -2, Fiorentina at -3 and Roma at -5. Even the Champions League places are at risk, in other words.
The coach is in the balance but for now he remains and has to thank the lack of credible alternatives. The name of Antonio Conte must be excluded because he does not want a job mid-season and he would cost a lot. There are perhaps no others of his level and the injuries themselves pose difficulties: who would jump on the bandwagon of a decimated squad?
With this thorny situation on our hands, we will see Zlatan Ibrahimovic in his new role for the first time. The club asked him – as Senior Advisor – for an opinion on the working methods at Milanello, to identify what has changed and what could be improved to avoid an infirmary that fills up every week.
The Swede will then contact both the owner Cardinale and the managing director Furlani directly. Clearly, with Pioli still on board, the club are trying to limit the damage by dealing with injury management.
For this reason, possible changes in Pioli’s preparatory staff are also being considered, another difficult task given that they are all highly trusted men in the eyes of the coach.
