Stefano Pioli: The pressure and expectations will rise for Milan

Milan's manager Stefano Pioli spoke to the press ahead of the news season.

"Our strength last season was believing in our players, our qualities and our values. We created such a synergy and spirit that we were able to triumph. These are characteristics that need to be maintained and improved. We need to question ourselves day after day. I’m convinced that none of my players have reached their full potential."

"It’s been a great and exciting summer. I’ve enjoyed time with my family and friends, and I’ve met a huge number of fans who have given me joy. I’m bringing this enthusiasm along with me and I want to maintain it throughout the season. I’ve worked with Maldini and Massara on a daily basis. The compact nature of the Club has allowed us to achieve what we have."

"We’ll need to raise the bar. We’ve motivated our opponents and we’ll need to improve even more to build on what we’ve done. We need be aware of the reason why we achieved this success. I’ll be working with a mature and motivated group; we’ve remained in contact and I know that I’m managing serious players and people. The pressure and expectations will rise; 5-6 teams could compete for the Scudetto but we want to carry on being successful."

"We learnt a lot from last year’s experience. I don’t think we can think about winning the Champions League; there are teams that can spend more and it’s difficult to compete with them. However, I’m sure that last season’s negative experience has made the team grow. We’ll wait for the draw on 25 August as we look to have all the necessary motivation to do well in Europe, too."

"I want to concentrate more on the process, which will involve displaying tenacity and courage and playing to win every single game. It’s better to focus on our work and preparations; we’ll play 21 matches in three months before a very long break. Our preparations began today, and we need to be in the best possible shape when the league kicks off."