Leonardo looking for change in attitude

Under-fire coach Leonardo has called on his struggling AC Milan team to change their attitude after a miserable start to the season.

Milan host AS Roma at the San Siro on Sunday, desperate to kick start a season that began badly and has been getting steadily worse.

They lost their second game of the season 4-0 at home to bitter city rivals Inter Milan and since then have struggled both for goals and victories.

They have lost three times in nine matches in all competitions, winning only three times, and scored just six goals while they sit a lowly 12th in Serie A.

“We need to change the attitude which was pinned to us before we had even begun,” he said.

“We need to cancel it out but within ourselves. We need to understand exactly who we are.

“If we express ourselves as best we can, we can do well. If you have a solid base mentally, things happen.”

While on paper, Saturday’s looks like a tough test against a team that before last season had finished runners-up in Serie A three times in a row, their opponents are not in much better health.

Roma are only eighth after seven matches this season and have the joint worst defence in the league, having leaked 13 goals.

If ever there was a sign to encourage Milan’s goal shy strikers — only the bottom two teams have scored fewer than Milan — it would have to be that.

“Now we have many opportunities, it’s the ideal moment. We’ll start with Roma, we have before us an extraordinary moment to pull out everything we have within us,” added Leonardo.

“It’s the decisive moment, the moment to start again, I’m sure we’ll do better.”

He talks a good game but so far this season Leonardo’s words have proved empty time and again and only goals and points can change that.