Ruben Amorim believes his experience at Manchester United has prepared him to weather criticism at AC Milan, saying it is "impossible" to receive more flak than he did at Old Trafford.
Milan have seven points on the board after three games of the Serie A season, having beaten Torino and Venezia before drawing 1-1 with Juventus last time out.
The Rossoneri were agonisingly close to a third straight victory, only to concede a stoppage-time equaliser to Federico Gatti, and Amorim's tactics were questioned by some pundits and fans after that match.
But the former Red Devils boss insists his time in England has made him more impervious to negative opinions than ever before.
"Criticism is normal. I already experienced that at my former club. More criticism than that is impossible," Amorim told reporters as he looked ahead to Saturday's trip to Lazio.
"Then, what I promise is that the team always comes first. My intention, and what they asked me to do, is to be positive and score goals.
"Sometimes we want to score goals and be positive, but then there is the opponent, and maybe [Luciano] Spalletti is really good and they pushed us back.
"We had the ball more than Juventus. Sometimes, even when we have the ball, the other guy is better than me, but that doesn't change the intention we have.
"If you look at our team, we always have an intention; you can't see anything that is random."
Back on the training ground pic.twitter.com/05IaMeqSCN
— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 7, 2026
Milan's upcoming opponents have a perfect nine points on the board under ex-Rossoneri midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, just the third time they have started a Serie A season with three straight victories in their history (also 1974-75 and 2012-12).
And Amorim believes Gattuso's ability to make the Biancocelesti more than the sum of their parts, as well as his fight as a player, should serve as an example to Milan.
"Gattuso is a Milan legend, and I think it's an image that is really important for our team right now," Amorim said.
"Talent is not everything. The passion that he had for playing football, the aggression, is something we need to replicate in the way we play.
"Sometimes, more than talent, what we've missed in recent years is that passion. It's a very good example for our team and our moment."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Lazio – Davide Frattesi
Inter loanee Frattesi has scored three goals in his first three Serie A appearances for Lazio.
Before him, only Mauro Zarate, Giuseppe Signori and Silvio Piola had managed to find the net in their first three games for the club in the competition, but none of them scored in their fourth.
NEXT MATCH
— S.S.Lazio (@OfficialSSLazio) September 9, 2026
#LazioMilan
HOME
12.09.26 | H. 18:00 pic.twitter.com/FyTHA1aTRI
AC Milan – Alphadjo Cisse
After scoring against Torino and Juventus, Cisse could become only the third player to score in each of his first three away Serie A appearances for Milan in the three-points-for-a-win era (since 1994-95).
Maurizio Ganz (between January and February 1998) and Krzysztof Piatek (between February and March 2019) are the previous players to achieve that feat for the club.
MATCH PREDICTION: AC MILAN WIN
Amorim could become the first Milan coach to win as many as three of his first four Serie A games in charge since Fatih Terim in 2001,
Overall, the Portuguese could become the 12th boss in the club's history to achieve at least three wins in his first four top-flight matches at the helm.
And history is on the Rossoneri's side. Lazio have lost 73 of their 166 Serie A matches against Milan (W33 D60); only suffering more defeats in the competition to Juventus (87).
Saturday's hosts have won two of their last three Serie A matches against Milan (L1), though, as many victories as they managed in their previous 10 encounters (D1 L7). The Opta supercomputer, however, is still siding with Amorim's side.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Lazio – 29.3%
AC Milan – 42.3%
Draw – 28.4%