Riccardo Montolivo has urged his team-mates to continue improving if the Rossoneri are serious about returning to the Champions League.
AC Milan have taken just three points from their opening three league fixtures after losing vital games against Fiorentina and Inter respectively, but Montolivo says that whilst the Rossoneri received a lot of plaudits for their performance against the Nerazzurri last Sunday the real mark of progress will be shown by their points tally.
“We have made progress and we’ve been more proactive but we cannot take a step backwards as from now on we must get better starting tomorrow,” Montolivo told a press conference ahead of the Rossoneri’s game at home to Palermo on Saturday.
“The next game is always more important than the previous one and now we really need the points.
“We received a lot of compliments for our performance in the derby match, but compliments don’t improve your league position.
“We have to be more ruthless in front of goal and tomorrow represents a formidable challenge.”
Despite Milan’s sluggish start to the league they still stand above both Juventus and Napoli in the table, however Montolivo believes that the Rossoneri’s rivals in the race for the Champions League positions will always remain the same.
“It’s impossible to tell just three games into the season, however I think the challengers are pretty much the same even if Juventus and Napoli have had poor starts,” said the Milan captain.
“In Europe, however both have done well and I think the real measure of Juventus is the side we seen in Manchester [after they defeated Manchester City] and for Napoli it’s the side we seen in Brugge [after they defeated Club Brugge] and I think our rivals are always the same.”
