AC Milan coach Sergio Conceicao feels he has not been shown enough respect by the media amid questions over his future.

Milan went down 1-0 at home to Atalanta on Sunday, leaving them ninth in the standings.

They are 20 points behind city rivals Inter, who lead the way along with Napoli at the summit, and nine points adrift of a Champions League spot.

With just five games remaining, Milan have a 0.1% chance of finishing in the top four, according to Opta's supercomputer, which ranks their chances of rounding out the season in the top seven at just 13.2%.

Milan, who won the Supercoppa Italiana during Conceicao's first week in charge, are in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, with a second leg against Inter coming up this week, but speculation has been mounting that the Portuguese coach will not be at the helm next season.

Conceicao, though, feels these rumours are disrespectful.

"Since I arrived and won the Super Cup, there has been talk every day about managers coming to Milan," Conceicao told DAZN.

"For me that is fine, I am inside football for 40 years, but the players read the news and so there is no stability. We have to work today to try to be better.

"It isn't easy for me because there is not much respect, they talk as if the Milan manager has never coached, and it's not like that.

"My future doesn't depend on anything, I have to prepare for the next match against Inter to win this trophy."

Post-match reaction from Rafael Leão #MilanAtalanta #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/V5OEuYVoaw
— AC Milan (@acmilan) April 20, 2025

Conceicao does not believe that the upcoming game against Inter influenced Milan's performance against Atalanta, but was not happy with the impact his substitutions made.

"For me, a player must be aware that the most important game is the one he is playing," Conceicao said.

"Those who come on during the match usually give us something more."

Milan have taken 51 points, which is their lowest tally after 33 games of a campaign since they accumulated 43 in the 2014-15 season.

Forward Rafael Leao said: "Of course, the defeat is tough to take.

"But we have a huge game this week that could lead to us winning something important this season and giving something to our fans."