Mediaset: Fonseca safe for now as blame shifts to players – why November is key

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Paulo Fonseca is not currently at risk of losing his job as AC Milan head coach because the blame for the defeat against Fiorentina is seen more as being with the players, a report claims.

SportMediaset reports how in the aftermath of the fourth defeat in the first nine games of the season (two in Serie A and two in the Champions League) – which is curiously the same record as Julen Lopetegui has with West Ham – there has been talk of pressure on Fonseca.

Instead, there is not a word about the future of the coach coming from Casa Milan because Giorgio Furlani, Geoffrey Moncada and Zlatan Ibrahimovic believe he is untouchable for now. It is the players, guilty of an attitude that is not up to par, who must give precise and immediate answers.

There were a lot of incidents during last night’s defeat to Fiorentina for which the squad deserve blame, including the overruling of the penalty hierarchies, the questionable work rate of certain players, Theo Hernandez’s red card and Fikayo Tomori’s mistake before the winner.

Fonseca has not been completely absolved of blame because some of his choices have certainly raised doubts and contribute to distancing the team, or part of the team.

Thus, the club’s leaders are wondering how this obvious self-management is possible and whether there is a real and significant disconnect between Fonseca’s ideas and those of the team.

The careless mistakes and any lack of professionalism will no longer be tolerated, and the coach will be given renewed confidence, at least until the November break which could be a good time for a first assessment and unless there is a sudden shock.