Ruben Amorim continued the criticism of his AC Milan side after their dismal defeat to Ferencvaros, branding them ‘not ready’ to compete on multiple fronts.

Amorim made the decision to enact six changes to the starting line-up from the team that beat Inter convincingly in the derby at the weekend, but it backfired as his team never got going last night and were well-beaten by the Hungarians.

It is reported that after the game the Portuguese coach gave a long speech to his players about their attitude and effort levels. Milan remain incredibly inconsistent on this front, as they continue to alternate very encouraging performances with disastrous and listless ones.

Amorim laid into his team during an interview with Sky after the final whistle, and then he spoke to the CBS Sports Golazo studio shortly afterwards. The exchange was transcribed by MilanNews.

Yesterday you were talking about identity, about character. Was this the difference?

“Yes, technically, tactically, and above all mentally, they were superior and deserved to win. Today we weren’t ready to play professional football, and I felt it. We need to look within ourselves and do better.”

And in the Champions League the level would be even higher…

“We have to focus on the small details, without thinking about the Champions League or anything like that. We just have to focus on improving the more specific aspects of football: the mentality, the heart, the passion. We have to improve on that.”

What is Ferencvaros’ level in European football, how do you rate them?

“I don’t know, it depends on the opponent, but they’re doing very well. They have four wins in four games, a clear identity, and today they were superior to us.”

What did this match tell you about Milan?

“That we’re not ready. We’re not ready, we’re far from being a really strong team. We have moments, in some games, where we’re really strong, but then we can’t maintain our level, especially mentally. So this game told me and all of us that we’re not ready to be a very strong team.”

During the first half, I noticed you were very energetic on the sidelines, and then it almost seemed like you stopped giving directions. Can you tell there’s a certain lack of understanding within the team and that they’re not playing the way you’d like?

“No, I just do what I feel at the time, and sometimes I don’t do certain things just for show. We didn’t play well, that’s for sure; we had a completely different attitude in the last league game, while today we weren’t mentally prepared to fight for the win, and that’s what we need to work on.”

If there hadn’t been the derby at the weekend, do you think this match would have gone better?

“I have no idea, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter, we have to be ready to play every three days in different competitions. So it doesn’t matter if we had a match before or not. I think we have to improve a lot in all aspects of the game.”

Torriani played his first match as a starter. How do you rate his performance today?

“I think he did well in the first half. He had a difficult time with a pass, but Lorenzo doesn’t bear any responsibility for the team’s performance. In fact, in the first half he gave us time to try to make some changes in the second half. So Lorenzo just has to keep working. We have to improve as a team to be stronger.”