Montolivo: “There is a great bond with the coach”, Abate: “To become great we need more consistentcy”

Riccardo Montolivo and Ignazio Abate were pleased to finish 2015 on a high and promised “we’ll give our absolute all to finish as high as possible.”

Frosinone had the lead against Milan but the Rossoneri bounced back thanks to a rare goal from right-back Ignazio Abate. Bacca, Alex and Bonaventura scored after that as well and the Diavolo finished the calendar year with a 4-2 victory away.

I am happy that I scored the equalizer. I was really impressed with the attitude we showed against Frosinone,” Abate said after the match. “In the second-half, we showed that we fully deserved to win.

“When something needs to be said, we talk about it in the changing rooms together. I am sorry for the coach who is always on the receiving end, but he can take it and he knows how to defend himself. We won’t give in and I can guarantee that we’ll give our absolute all to finish as high as possible in the table.

“We’ve showed that we are a good team, but to become a great one, we need to be more consistent. I believe it’s more of a mental issue though because we have the talent and it’s there for all to see when we have the right attitude. During the week we give everything, we train well and we have to reflect on why we’re not perhaps able to repeat that in the match. This has to spur us on and motivate us to do better.”

Riccardo Montolivo added to the Milan Channel: “We were determined to bring home the 3 points. Unfortunately, we tried to force things too much with our build-up play in the first half, and we could have done better, but we still managed to score four goals and that’s what counts.

You don’t necessarily create more chances with more forwards on the pitch. When there is balance in the team, we create chances and so all I can say is well done to everyone. There is a great bond with the coach because he is an honest person and we give everything for him and for Milan.

“We’re still frustrated about the draws with Carpi and Verona, but on the positive side we progressed to the next round of the TIM Cup and we won on Sunday. This year our training over the winter break will be different to last year. January for us will be a crucial month.”

Milan’s next match is on the 6th of January against Bologna and they then face Roma to end the first round of Serie A. The Rossoneri will have to do better if they want to get a top three spot.