Mihajlovic: I want to honour my contract at AC Milan

Sinisa Mihajlovic is hopeful of remaining AC Milan boss beyond this season despite a fresh wave of speculation surrounding his position following last weekend’s defeat at Sassuolo.

Milan’s 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions came to an end at the Stadio Citta del Tricolore, prompting reports the Serbian was destined to leave San Siro at the end of the campaign.

But Mihajlovic has a year left on his contract and is optimistic of fulfilling it.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s trip to Chievo, he told a news conference: “I am disappointed that after a defeat, the usual rumours over the Milan job have started again. Going from one extreme to another is never healthy.

“I have made mistakes, but the key thing is that my ideas and choices have always been for the good of the team.”

Mihajlovic had a “relaxed” meeting with club president Silvio Berlusconi on Friday and is focused on trying to secure a European place for Milan next season.

He added: “I have a good relationship with the president. We spoke about football yesterday and the match with Sassuolo. It was a relaxed meeting. I want to clarify that I have another year on my contract and I want to honour it, but this depends on the job I do and the results.

“At the end of the season, a decision will be made. I said the same thing last week. I know how things work in football and I am feeling calm.

“Our season isn’t over after the loss at Sassuolo. There are still 10 games to go and we are aiming to collect as many points as possible. Sixth place isn’t good enough for us and this is our mentality.” 

Mario Balotelli was dragged off after just 55 minutes at Sassuolo and the on-loan Liverpool striker is set to start the Chievo game on the bench.

Mihajlovic continued: “Balotelli’s fitness levels are to be expected, but he isn’t ready yet from a psychological standpoint.

“He has been training for two months and physically he is fine, but he has to improve with the mental aspect.

“Every player has to work hard and use his skills for the good of the team. Versus Sassuolo, Balotelli, like [Jeremy] Menez, did what I wanted once but not on the following five occasions. Menez perhaps because he isn’t in peak shape, Mario maybe because he loses a bit of concentration and we cannot afford for this to happen.

“We all want to help Mario. He has to be more visible when he plays and when he is asked to do certain things. But this applies to everyone and not just him.”