Defiant Ancelotti vows to see out Milan contract

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti on Saturday insisted that he will stay at the Italian giants until his contract expires in June 2010 despite rumours that he is set to leave before the end of the season.

“I have a contract with the club until 2010 and I fully intend to respect it,” Ancelotti said at a press conference prior to the team’s trip to Sampdoria on Sunday.

“I’ve had my name linked to other teams for the past five years, so it’s no surprise to hear these things again. But my desire is to stay at Milan.”

The seven-time European champions were eliminated from the UEFA Cup on away goals on Thursday after drawing their last 32 tie 2-2 against German side Werder Bremen, while they are currently 11 points behind leaders Inter Milan in Serie A.

The Italian media claim that the current team has reached the end of its cycle and have linked Ancelotti with a move to either Chelsea or Real Madrid at the end of the season.

Ancelotti, however, insists that the club can meet the challenge of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

“By looking the players in their eyes, I’ve seen their motivation,” he said.

“The meeting with Werder demonstrated that we have a number of physical problems which obviously will not be resolved in two days,” he added.

“As a result, we’ll just have to rely on our spirit.”