AC Milan head coach Ruben Amorim confirmed he will rotate against RB Salzburg, and insisted that the younger players will get their opportunities.

The pressure is on Milan going into their second fixture in the league phase of the Europa League, and not just because they lost 2-0 to Benfica in their opening game. The 1-1 draw against Sassuolo on Sunday after the three-week break has once again generated a flood of negativity in the media.

Amorim has only taken charge of seven games with just the one ending in defeat, and yet we are already at the point of Sky having to confirm that he still has Gerry Cardinale’s backing. The owner was in attendance at the weekend though and was believed to have been left unimpressed.

So, the Salzburg game carries a bit of added meaning, against a team that are without a defeat in their 15 games across all competitions this season under the new head coach Danny Röhl. They beat Levski Sofia – who Milan play in a few weeks – to begin their UEL campaign with a win.

Amorim’s pre-Salzburg press conference

With the squad and staff having travelled to Austria this afternoon, Amorim did his pre-match press conference from the Red Bull Arena on the eve of the match. MilanNews relayed what he had to say.

There’s been a lot of criticism in recent days. Do you feel like everyone’s pointing fingers at this Milan team?

“It’s normal at top clubs, and I realized it right from the game against Juventus. I have a job to do; I leave the noise to other people. And when I look at the team, we’re improving.

“We’re controlling games more, we’re pressing more, we’re playing with the ball more, and we’re creating more chances every time. At a top club, if you don’t win, that kind of thing is normal.”

What kind of Salzburg do you expect tomorrow? Have you spoken to Pavlovic about his former team?

“I haven’t talked much about this with Pavlo, I just talked to him about his role tomorrow. He’ll be a starter tomorrow. They’re a team with a lot of pace and quality.

“They have some technical players. They’re a team used to winning. It’ll be a tough match, but I’ve talked to the players about it. Pavlo told me about the atmosphere. We’ll be playing in a great stadium and we’re ready.”

There’s a need for rotation, but there’s also the risk of changing too much… Where’s the line between the two?

“The fact is that they train together, they play together. All the players who will take to the field tomorrow have already played a few minutes or have started a few matches: they’ve been important. We need to rotate a bit, we’ll do some rotation.

“We have some players who are doubtful for tomorrow; we’ll see tomorrow morning. And then, the risk I’ll take is only mine, because I’m the only one who can live with the results, but I have a clear plan for what to do with this team, the plan I want for this club.

“So nothing will change that: the risk is mine alone. The players need to stay calm, they just need to have rhythm. They need to give everything on the pitch during the match, the rest is my responsibility. We’ll be ready for tomorrow’s match.”

If Camarda were to play, what did you see in him? Is he ready?

“No one knows anything about a player unless they play: that’s the main issue. Camarda is doing great, he earned his place during summer training, he’s done his job, and he’ll get his chance. It’s clear that we’ve structured the squad to leave room for these young players.

“Cisse is already playing, Camarda has had a few minutes, Comotto isn’t playing right now, but we have to let these guys play because sometimes they can surprise you, given that they’re part of the squad and train every day with the other players.

“So they have to be ready for the matches, and what I see is that he’s ready to take to the field, he’s really confident, and he loves playing for Milan. This is also very important to me, and it’s an additional option for tomorrow.”

Cardinale also leaked some criticism… Have you been in touch these days?

“If I understood correctly, the question was about the relationship with Gerry and the criticism… I didn’t notice anything: just a conversation about the future, a conversation about summer training with some members of the management team, also to decide the location of the next training camp. So it was a normal day at work. I didn’t notice anything, it was just another day.”

Salzburg is Mozart’s city… What is Milan’s magic flute? Style or the champions [star individuals]?

“What I know about playing and champions is that the two are connected. You can have great players, but if they don’t play the same way, you don’t have a team.

“At the same time, if you want to do different things, do things at the highest level and have possession, but you don’t have good players, it’s equally impossible. If you don’t have fast players, you can’t play one-on-one at the back. If you’re not tall, you can’t score many goals from set pieces.

“So I think everything is interconnected. The beautiful thing about football is that sometimes you can win without the best players, but you can also lose disastrously even with the best in your squad.

“That’s why it’s difficult to isolate a single element in football or have a certain formula for winning: you can win in different ways. The important thing for me is to have fun, and you have to give everything for the team: this is the fundamental aspect I look for in my players.

“And then they have to play good football… I like very strong players. I like defenders who think like a number 10, I like defenders who know how to dare with the ball and who know how to mark. The man one-on-one.

“So, to answer you: I’m not Mozart, I’m far from that. I’m a normal guy with clear principles, who likes very strong players, but who especially loves players who give their all for the team. That’s the main thing.”

But Sacchi said that the orchestra was the most important thing…

“Sacchi is like Mozart (laughs). These are different times: and it’s important to explain this to our fans. Different times, different moments, different people… it will take a little longer to get there.

“Today, however, you know better than I do that everything has to happen quickly, otherwise it seems like there’s no time. But for me, there’s a clear plan: if we have time, we’ll have time. Otherwise, we’ll move forward.”