Mihajlovic won´t panic despite AC Milan sack talk

AC Milan head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic insists he can cope with the pressure despite reports suggesting he is close to the sack at San Siro.

The 46-year-old heads back to former club Sampdoria for the first time on Thursday in the Coppa Italia round of 16, with reports in Italy claiming he is one more bad result away from being axed.

Mihajlovic left the Stadio Luigi Ferraris during the close-season to replace Filippo Inzaghi but a run of one win from five in Serie A has left Milan seventh on the table, seven points adrift of the top three.

Milan president Silvio Berlusconi said this week he was “disappointed” with the performances of the players and coach Mihajlovic.

But the Serbian has insisted he will not let the speculation about his position worry him.

“I am calm and peaceful regarding my future,” he said at his pre-match media conference.

“I have confidence in my ability and the work that I am doing. I am certainly not panicking. I have broad shoulders and can deal with criticism. All I think about is taking things game by game.

“I do not know what the president said because I have not read his statements. I cannot comment on things I know nothing about. I always listen to the president but for now, I am not going to discuss these things.”

Mihajlovic reiterated that he does not think his side’s form is as bad as is being portrayed, despite consecutive draws against Carpi and Hellas Verona resulting in whistles from disgruntled Milan supporters.

“After the match against Napoli we have only lost against Juventus,” he said.

“We lacked a bit of bite and luck against Carpi and Hellas, but we deserved to win. We know where to improve.

“With these four points more we could have been three points off the Champions League places. We are united and believe in our objective. I am convinced and so are the players – I have never looked for excuses.

“We must have the personality to transform the whistles into applause, we have to think positively and think only about playing.

“If you cannot cope you have to change jobs, but everyone at Milan has the personality to be able to play with whistles. Maybe it is not nice to hear them but they are not affected by whistling.”