Michael Essien is confident that Filippo Inzaghi
has what it takes to succeed as Milan's head
coach.
Milan fought back from two goals down to earn a
2-2 draw at Empoli on Tuesday, leaving them
with seven points from their opening four Serie A
matches.
The San Siro outfit are looking to banish
memories of a disappointing campaign last time
out which yielded only an eighth-placed finish.
And Essien has backed 41-year-old former
striker Inzaghi, who took the reins in June, to
deliver.
"He's a good person first and foremost and is
doing a good job as a coach, too," the 31-year-
old midfielder told FIFA.com "He's relatively
young as a full-time Serie A coach but I have no
doubt he'll do well if he carries on in this way.
"It's not easy to coach and manage football
clubs, let alone a great club like Milan, so I have
a lot of respect for him for taking up the challenge
and he is giving it everything he has."
Essien, who is currently out injured, also believes
that the club's absence from European
competition will prove beneficial.
"I'm sure it will help us although we still would
liked to have been in Europe," he said. "We have
to look ahead but we mustn't forget we need to
work hard to be able to do well in Serie A.
"Not being in Europe doesn't automatically mean
you'll do well. It means fewer games and good
recovery times compared to those in Europe but
we still have to work hard and take our
opportunities as they come throughout the
season."
Fernando Torres, a former team-mate of
Essien's at Chelsea, has re-united with the
Ghanaian in Italy after joining Milan on loan and
opened his account for the club against Empoli.
Essien described the Spain international as a "top
striker" and added: "I am convinced we'll see
lots of goals from Fernando."
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