AC Milan coach Vincenzo Montella insists he and sports chief Massimo Mirabelli have a good relationship.

Mirabelli has been critical of the players this season.

Montella said: “There is a solid rapport with Massimo. We comment for hours after a game, unfortunately in recent matches it has happened in public and coincided with three defeats. It's logical he has to evaluate my work on a professional level, but there is no problem between us.

“Of course I made some mistakes, but that's logical in my profession. We are there trying to find the password to take that next step. There are always going to be difficulties amid radical changes, like Pep Guardiola in his first year at Manchester City or Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.

“We're missing the results, but not the performances. Mirabelli said some very obvious things, the kind we discuss every day. The only problem for the club is the lack of victories. If we had beaten Inter, I would've been treated like some sort of genius.

“I understand the disappointment of the fans, but it's down to the results and not the performances. I know that tomorrow the crowd will jeer at our first misplaced pass, but that's normal. We need courage and confidence. I repeat, the statistics show that only Napoli had more shots than us this season."