AC Milan coach Leonardo has hit back at club president Silvio
Berlusconi after his recent criticism of the team.
Berlusconi slated the Rossoneri for their performance in
Tuesday's 3-2 Champions League defeat at home to Manchester United
and they will now face an uphill task if they are to make it into
the quarter-finals.
But Leonardo has come out in support of his players and
insists he will have no qualms about walking away from his post if
he is no longer valued by the Italian Prime Minister.
"I'm always very calm, our agreements are very, very clear,"
said Leonardo. "We have a stable policy and I have no problems with
that.
"If the president wants me to leave, he just needs to say the
word."
Milan travel to Bari on Sunday with just one win in their
last six matches and Leonardo has made no attempt to hide the fact
that he was unhappy with Berlusconi's recent criticism.
He added: "The most important thing we need to progress is
calmness and these things don't help a team.
"But it doesn't do any harm either because we have a mature
team. I've been at this club for 13 years and the president only
needs to say one word, just one.
"I don't have contractual problems (a long contract making it
expensive for Milan to sack him). This club would never pay two
coaches if I was to leave.
"In the meantime, I'm concentrating on the team, which needs
defending because this year they have done some exceptional things,
all of them.
"For a while this team produced some incredible football and
that deserves to be defended.
"Against Manchester we were the better side and that warrants
defending. We lost but those things need to be analysed with
logic."
