AC Milan must keep their feet on the ground despite their Supercoppa Italiana victory when they return to Serie A action against Cagliari on Saturday.
Those were the words of Rossoneri head coach Sergio Conceicao, who claimed his first trophy for his new club earlier this week in his second game in charge.
Milan defeated rivals Inter Milan 3–2 at the King Saud University Stadium, with Tammy Abraham scoring the winner in second-half stoppage time in an impressive comeback win.
But Conceicao's attention will now turn to his first league match since replacing Paulo Fonseca, with lowly Cagliari the visitors to the San Siro this weekend.
“I think those who think that winning a Super Cup is enough cannot work at Milan,” Conceicao said at a press conference on Friday.
“It's true, we enjoyed it and deserved it, but we are seventeen points behind at the top of the table.
“A club that has won nineteen championships and seven Champions Leagues cannot be fed up with the Super Cup. So let's concentrate on tomorrow. We have to win and convince. The Super Cup is over.”
Their victory moved them level with Inter on eight Supercoppa Italiana titles, one shy of Juventus' record of nine, but Conceicao played down the achievement.
“One of the things that didn't go well in the derby in my opinion is that we made mistakes in pressing,” Conceicao said.
'There are undoubtedly many things that need to be improved.
“The right way to experience success is to think that there is someone ahead of us who is much more important. I enjoyed it, I even danced, but already on the plane back I was thinking about tomorrow's match.”
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Milan ended 2024 with a 1-1 draw against Roma, leaving them eighth in Serie A and eight points off the Champions League places.
But they will be hoping for a first league win under their new manager against Cagliari after going unbeaten in their last 13 top-flight games against them (W10 D3).
Conceicao will also look to become the first Milan manager since Arrigo Sacchi in 1987 to win each of his first three games in charge of the Rossoneri.
However, Milan's coach will be without midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who suffered a setback during training ahead of Saturday's match.
“He has a little problem and won't be there tomorrow,” Conceicao said. “I'm sorry, because he was growing physically.”
The 50-year-old also remained tight-lipped about reports linking Milan with a move for Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford.
“Rashford is a good player, like many others, let's see what happens,” concluded Conceicao.
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