AC Milan are not in crisis, but we need to beat them – Montella

New Sampdoria boss Vincenzo Montella insists he is only interested in beating AC Milan on Saturday, but does not think Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side are in a crisis.

An inconsistent start to the season from the San Siro side has seen them win only six of their first 13 Serie A games ahead of their home clash with Samp.

Montella – who lost his first game in charge after taking over at Mihajlovic’s former club against Udinese last week – will not be using a lack of time at the helm as an excuse for a poor result against Milan.

He said: “Are Milan in crisis? Absolutely not, but it doesn’t interest me much – I am just interested in trying to beat them.

“I want to get our team into the game in the best condition and this is the first week where we have worked with everyone available.

“It is always said that it takes time, but I don’t want to wait. We have to discard the excuses about time and just think about how to beat Milan.

“We have had a lack of points away from home and it is something that must end. It takes courage and personality to play in these games.”

Sampdoria sit 12th in the table, but a win could see them move to within one point of Milan, who are seventh.