Ancelotti Confident Of Serie A succes

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti claims his team can still win the Scudetto despite trailing Serie A leaders Inter Milan by nine points.

Inter are odds on favourites to lift the title for the fourth time on the trot but Ancelotti is hoping they are distracted by the added pressure of the Champions League.

And if that happens the Milan boss is confident his team will be there to take full advantage.

"Our aim is to win the Scudetto," Ancelotti told Gazzetta dello Sport. "It will be very difficult because our rivals are all tough.

"But Milan will fight until the end.

"Inter are favourites, but Milan and Juve are there, ready to take advantage of any slip-ups.

"The rules are simple: to be optimistic or pessimistic you give the same effort, I prefer the first solution. Moreover, the group at Milan, the spirit of the squad, the desire of the players makes me think that we still have a few things to say.

"Nine points are a lot but it is still early to give definitive judgements.

"The next Champions League games with be fundamental: in these challenges you lose a lot of nervous energy.

"And our rivals, Inter and Juve in particular, have tricky games against Manchester United and Chelsea.

"They can reach the next round but they will use up quite a bit of gas on the pitch."

Milan are also competing in Europe, albeit in the UEFA Cup, and they have a tricky tie against Werder Bremen.

However, Ancelotti is confident that his side will continue their good form of late and beat the German team before going on to win the competition itself.

"Who will win the cup? What's that for a question? Milan obviously," he said. "It's very true that Bremen are tough to beat, but we are Milan and don't you ever forget it.

"To win it would be fantastic, it's a trophy that is missing in our cabinet.

"There have been two sides to this year. Until spring it wasn't great because we didn't reach the Champions League. That was a terrible blow.

"Then there were some problems at the beginning of the season, but we overcame them and we are still on course for our project."

Ancelotti is confident new loan-signing David Beckham will help them achieve their aims in the short time he is at the San Siro.

He added: "I believe he can be very useful. He can play in every role in midfield, is a great professional and knows what to do with the ball."

Ancelotti has been at Milan since 2001 and is on course to become the longest serving coach the Rossoneri - one of the most demanding clubs in Italy in terms of trophies - has ever had.

Should the 49-year-old last until the end of his contract in June 2010 he will break the record set by Nereo Rocco in several stints at the club between 1961-77.

"My aim is to overtake Nereo Rocco in number of appearances on the bench, and so become the coach who has been at Milan the longest," said Ancelotti. "I hope to do it but in this world there is never anything certain."

Ancelotti has his sights set on being on the Milan bench for even longer though, and would love nothing more than to emulate Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, adding however "but that's unreachable: he is a legend at Manchester."

The former Milan player has been a long-standing admirer of Ferguson and he believes the United manager could lead his team to back-to-back European titles.

"There's no doubt as to who were the best this year: Manchester United," said Ancelotti. "Like we did in 2007, they won the Champions League and the World Club Championship.

"Manchester United are a fantastic team and their manager, Ferguson, is exceptional.

"Who will win the Champions League this year? Manchester United and Barcelona are playing well and they can get right to the end."