PIOLI: "WE WANT TO WIN AT HOME AGAIN"

Now that the break is over, Serie A is back: ten matchdays left, we have one final run of intense, difficult games. The first obstacle is Sampdoria: the game is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 3 April at 12:30 CEST, at San Siro. On the eve of the game, Pioli talked at a press conference at Milanello to discuss this challenge. 

RESPONSIBILITY
"We have responsibilities but we've always handled them with conviction and confidence. We're heading into the decisive part of the season; everything we've done in the past months has led us to this point. We need to have the mindset that every game will be tough and we have to give our all to get to the end of the season without any regrets. We'll take stock at the end." 

THE BREAK
"If I'd had the chance to give everyone a rest, I'd have done it. The players that stayed home worked well and all of our internationals have returned fit apart from Brahim, who picked up a knock and we'll know in the next few hours whether he'll be available. These breaks take away your work, attention and preparation for games, but we absolutely need to concentrate on this match and not think about the future. Quality and motivation make the difference in games - these are abundant on both sides."

SCUDETTO DREAMS
"We totally believe in what we're doing. Calmness, confidence and a lot of work: this is our way of operating. There are 30 points available, which is a lot, and the fight will be hard. We have to think about tomorrow's game, which pits us against a decent side, who are doing well and are led by a who, who I rate highly and who taught me so much. The team needs to think positively; we know full well that we need to display conviction and hope in our performances."

RENEWALS
"When I spoke about calmness, I was speaking about just this issue - I can see it in the eyes of Hakan, Zlatan and Gigio. They're concentrating and now that the future is now, the same goes for all of us. It would change a lot depending on whether we get Champions League football or not."

THE FIGHT FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL
"75 points could be enough to secure the Champions League, but it's a bit premature to be doing these calculations now, especially because we still have a lot of games against direct rivals still to play. Our record at home is much worse than away, so we want to win in our own stadium again."

FITNESS
"The team is in good condition going into this one - on a mental level too. It was a great performance in Florence, with plenty of spirit and quality. It was confirmation of this team's growth. We need to keep this up. We must put in a strong performance tomorrow; it'll be really tough because Samp like to get the ball forward a lot. They know when to sit deep in the defensive phase but will also come out and press you. There will be space and we need to exploit it."  

ABSENCES
"Against Sampdoria, we're without Romagnoli, Calabria, Maldini, Mandžukić, Leão and maybe Brahim Díaz too. I hope to have more players available for our net game."

IBRA
"Ibra is fine; he's happy to be back. He's charged up and motivated. He's trained brilliantly with the team in two sessions, both in terms of his game and participation. He's in brilliant mental and physical condition."

INDIVIDUALS
"Isma is an important part of our game in terms of reading the spaces, offering solutions and progressing the ball upfield. Hauge has suffered a physical setback, which I believe might be psychological in many ways, but he's looked good in recent days. We're really satisfied with how Tomori has settled in. He's secure and a happy lad, who's available and offers us some important characteristics." 

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