Filippo Inzaghi has insisted ‘we have to turn these whistles into applause’ and said he would accept points at the expense of appealing football.

Another day, another match, another embarrassment. Milan continued their miserable 2015 Serie A start with a second defeat in three games and once again it was at Stadio San Siro, against Atalanta who, after beating Milan, are 15th.

“We all have to be aware that we have the obligation to do more. The whistles were deserved today. We have to turn these whistles into applause,” Inzaghi told the Milan Channel in the post-match interviews. “This side hasn’t become useless in 2 weeks.

“Tomorrow we will analyze the match. With work and desire we will get back to the levels of 2 weeks ago. We have to think about what happened. We were missing something after the first half an hour. We have to pick ourselves up right away because we immediately have 2 matches.

“I have told my players that they have to take responsibility and be aware of what was missing. This week will allow us to work and on Saturday we will be tested out on the pitch.

“Nothing happened between Abate and Cerci (there are rumours that the two quarreled during half-time). But when a side isn’t able to get a result, it can happen that the team gets angry. I will try and give confidence back to this team which seems to have been lost.

“We’re 7 points off third place,” Pippo added. “This time last year the team was 17 points off third place. There is still the entire second part of the season to play. Nothing is lost.”

Speaking to Sky, Inzaghi had this to say: “We just have to roll our sleeves up and work. There’s nothing else we can do at this moment. We have the determination, but that’s not enough anymore and we need to wake up. We take our share of the responsibility, but the only medicine for these issues is work.

“It’s above all a shame that we gave away the ball for the goal. We created chances, albeit not enough and we need to do so much better for a team of our quality. Our style of football that we had early in the season isn’t coming out on to the field anymore and the team is feeling the tension.

“Let’s not forget this team played on a par with Roma and Napoli, so cannot suddenly lose all their talent. On Tuesday we played well against Sassuolo in the Coppa Italia, which is an important tournament for us.

“We need to get back to doing what we did before the Christmas break. Maybe the defeat to Sassuolo at the start of 2015 damaged our confidence. We might not be able to play the best football in these circumstances, but we must try to play better than this. We should be tighter and more compact.

“Perhaps the excessive desire to win made us lose our bearings and get stretched out. We’ll analyze the game and try to improve. It’s the only thing we can do at this moment.”

In the post-match press conference, Inzaghi said similar things, admitting he’s ‘disappointed’:

“Up until a short while ago we were competing with Roma and Napoli, but I didn’t get ahead of myself then and I won’t get down now. I take the blame and we will try and turn the whistles into cheers.

“I am calm but at the same time disappointed. I don’t like to look for excuses or who is to blame. It’s down to me to turn the whistles into applause. There were 30000 people and we have to do more. We have many fans and we cannot play like that. We have to roll our sleeves up.

“Saturday we have a big test, that if we play with the right attitude, can go well. I have to give everything to get the team back to playing how they did against Napoli and Roma. The situation is not dramatic, but we have to turn things around. With work and desire we will get back to what we were before.

“I feel very supported by the club. I go forwards with my convictions, ideas and desire. The team follows me and we have to turn things around quickly. We’re 7 points behind third and we have to try to fight.

“I chose a midfield today based on quality and for this reason I played with 2 wide midfielders like Montolivo and Bonaventura. We didn’t manage it today, but the idea was to dominate the play. We conceded after our error, which we should have avoided. Everything is up for discussion when you lose. We have to understand what isn’t working and find a solution.

“We could have played with 2 forwards today, but Pazzini hasn’t been well in the past days. We started with what we know and then I brought on Pazzini, but it wasn’t enough. The training sessions had told me that we were more confident. Obviously we had some fears and I’ve to get rid of them as soon as possible.

“It’s not a question to do with the formation, but rather a desire to play with heart and desire. We have to wake up quickly and get back to doing what we have been doing.”