AC Milan head coach Filippo Inzaghi claims his team are on track for the start of the new Serie A season but four defeats out of four in pre-season tell a very different tale.

Inzaghi has been tasked with turning around the fortunes of the struggling Italian giants after they finished eighth last season.

Milan went through two managers during the last campaign as they struggled to finish in the top half of the table. Massimiliano Allegri, who always had something of a love-hate relationship with the Milan fans despite winning the league in 2011, was the first to go.

Clarence Seedorf was the next man through the door to much pomp and pageantry, and looked to be doing a good job as performances improved.

Milan won seven out of their last nine matches under the former Milan great to end the season, but that still wasn’t enough to satisfy the powers that be, who decided to promote Inzaghi to the top job.

With no European football at the San Siro this year for the first time since 1999, Inzaghi has been told that Champions League qualification is the aim for this season. Although they are 23/10 to finish in the top three in Italy, it looks like it might be a tall order given Milan's struggles in pre-season.

Not only have Inzaghi's men lost all their friendly matches to date, but they have also conceded 12 goals and managed to score just two.

While concerns have been raised about the team's poor form, Inzaghi claims to have seen signs of improvements and is convinced they will be ready for the new Serie A campaign.
"We are on the right path to start well on the 31st (of August),” he said, following the 2-1 friendly defeat to Valencia.

While Inzaghi thinks his team is ready to compete, the sad truth is that Milan are some way off challenging for the Scudetto again. Without significant investment, and time to implement his ideas, Inzaghi is just another stopgap in the Rossoneri’s continuing search for a quick fix.