Midfielder De Jong defends AC Milan's under-fire boss Inzaghi

Midfielder De Jong defends AC Milan's under-fire boss Inzaghi

Published Nov. 4, 2014 8:39 a.m. ET

AC Milan midfielder Nigel de Jong insists head coach Filippo Inzaghi should not be bearing the brunt for the side's recent failings.

Milan are winless in three and the first murmurings of discontent this season arose over the weekend when the Rossoneri suffered a surprise 2-0 loss at home to Palermo.

It was only their second defeat of the season and, while they still have high hopes of a top-four finish in Serie A, De Jong knows they need to rally as a team and improve quickly.

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"We didn't have a good game against Palermo, but we must believe in our objective which could be third or fourth place," the Dutch international told the club's official website.

"We must believe in our game, we win and lose together, we're not looking for people to blame.

"We must improve in attack. It's not Inzaghi's fault if we lose a match, even if he did take responsibility. We must work a lot this week to stay on our path.

"We travel to Genoa (where they will next face Sampdoria) with confidence, even if it will be hard there. I only believe in one thing: work, work, work in order to win."

Keisuke Honda echoes De Jong's sentiments and says the team back Inzaghi, who took charge of Milan in June 2014 after the dismissal of former team-mate Clarence Seedorf.

"This is a good team and we're behind the coach, we believe and we will do well," said the Japanese forward.

"We started on a new path two months ago and we have to find new solutions for our playing style. We now have a tough fixture list, but we know what to do."

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