The second half display at the Olimpico against Roma, which Milan would have won on points had it been a boxing match, and Sunday’s comfortable victory over Fiorentina, their first against a top six side this season, were encouraging and showed signs of progress. 

In between, Milan booked their place in the last four of the Coppa Italia and should be confident of returning to the final of the competition for the first time since they last won it 13 years ago. Their opponents in the semi are third division Alessandria, the club from whom they signed arguably their greatest ever player, the Golden Boy himself, Gianni Rivera in 1960. It offers Milan another route into the Europa League should qualification prove beyond them in Serie A. 

Currently sixth, they’re not where owner Silvio Berlusconi expected them to be. After spending €90m in the summer [€150m if you include wages and commissions] he quite unrealistically had a title challenge in mind and put Champions League qualification down as a “fundamental” minimum. While the team is doing better - the improvement on a year ago is five places and five points - it is not going anywhere near as well as Berlusconi had hoped and as such there is a case that, absent from Europe again with only the league and the cup to concentrate on they have underperformed despite major and welcome investment the like of which Milan haven’t seen since the turn of the century. Last week’s vote of confidence aside, Berlusconi’s enthusiasm has faded. 

Results-wise Milan got off on the wrong foot this season, losing on opening night in Florence. Unlucky in the derby they succumbed to Inter. The team wasn’t shooting enough. Decisions Milan came to were made to look like the wrong ones: for example hiring Mihajlovic instead of Maurizio Sarri whose Napoli left San Siro with a 4-0 win or Roberto Donadoni after he brought Bologna to the Scala del Calcio and claimed victory.  Turning down the chance to buy Daniele Baselli, the midfielder whose equaliser for Torino against Milan was his fourth goal in seventh appearances for his new club, was another one. 

Milan couldn’t keep a clean sheet to save their lives. Their record in big games was poor. Milan went to Juventus and lost and are still without a point at the J Stadium since its inauguration. Serie B leaders Crotone took them to extra-time in the cup. Big wins against Lazio and Samp were false dawns, not turning points. Ending one year and beginning the new one with only five points from a possible 12 against teams fighting relegation wasn’t a good look either. Seen from where he was standing, Berlusconi felt entitled to be disappointed and didn’t hide it. He began undermining Mihajlovic already in October. 

There were reports [subsequently denied] of him making his coach watch DVDs of Bayern and Barça. “Sinisa prepares the players well,” Berlusconi said, “he knows how to talk to and strike up a rapport with them but Milan now need tactics.” Teams with smaller budgets and transfer spends were outdoing Milan in the table. After Milan beat Sassuolo, Berlusconi decided not to compliment Mihajlovic but Eusebio di Francesco instead. When Atalanta got a draw at San Siro, he went in the away dressing room and told Edy Reja and his players they had played like his old Milan once did. More recently, there have been rumours of meetings with Marcello Lippi and renewed talk of Antonio Conte having an offer on the table for after the Euros. 

Throughout it all I’ve felt nothing but sympathy for Mihajlovic. Milan have had four different managers in the last two years and while the coaches have changed the results have remained the same and that’s telling. The scale of the rebuild should not be underestimated. Of the €90m Milan spent in the summer, almost all of it went on a centre-back [Alessio Romagnoli], a midfielder [Andrea Bertolacci] and a striker [Carlos Bacca]. Irrespective of whether they overpaid, particularly for Bertolacci, all have talent. But Inter bought an entire team for more or less the same outlay. 

Milan’s is still incomplete. It’s often forgotten too that they have been without their most decisive player of last season, the 16-goal Jeremy Menez, throughout this entire campaign so far.  In addition to the new signings, what quality there is - from the emerging Gigi Donnarumma to the excellent Giacomo Bonaventura - finds itself surrounded by mediocrity. Mihajlovic doesn’t have the players to play the system he did at Samp, a 4-3-1-2. If Ricky Saponara hadn’t been sold to Empoli, where he is playing brilliantly as a 10, that would have helped. 

Recruitment has long been an issue and while it was refreshing to see Milan spend some real money instead of limit themselves to loans and free transfers, chief executive Adriano Galliani remains the focus of fan protests and criticism from ex-players, most notably Paolo Maldini. Once decoupled from deals with Genoa and agent Mino Raiola, it’s all so muddled. Three players have worn the No.9 shirt in the last year: Fernando Torres, Mattia Destro and Luiz Adriano. All, apart from Adriano, now back after his transfer to Jiangsu fell through, were gone after six months. 

Confusion reigns. Negotiations to sell a 48% stake of the club to Bee Taechaubol have dragged on for a year and seem no closer to being finalised. After spending a lot of time and money on winning a competitive tender to build a new stadium in the Portello neighbourhood of the city, a project particularly dear to Barbara Berlusconi’s heart, the club then decided not go ahead with their plans and will now have to pay compensation to the committee that awarded them it. 

Is there really any wonder why there is such disillusion among supporters? Some stay away. The average attendance at San Siro this season has been 34,428 or 43% of capacity. Others have kept going make no secret of their discontent rendering San Siro not only half empty but hostile. The place has lost its fear factor to opponents and become one where Milan are daunted to play instead. 

Psychologically scarred by results in the last couple of years - “the players see ghosts” - Mihajlovic has had to act like an exorcist. It’s not easy to play for Milan. Look at how other players have gone elsewhere in the last year, M’baye Niang and Saponara this time last season, Suso this month, and immediately made an impact. Unless you have the character and talent of Donnarumma, Milan isn’t a stable enough environment for them to feel able to express their ability. The pressure is immense and results and performances continue to be judged against the glories of the past rather than the changed circumstances of the present. 

All told, this is what Mihajlovic has had to contend with and should be the prism through which his work is seen. “Milan were great when the club was united,” Arrigo Sacchi explained to Il Corriere della Sera. “Today it’s less cohesive than when I was there.” 

Mihajlovic has needed time. Milan have evolved from a 4-3-1-2 to a 4-3-3 and now a 4-4-2 where everyone, aside from Keisuke Honda, is playing in their natural position. He has promoted Donnaruuma. Romagnoli still lacks a steady centre-back partner, but Alex will have to do for now. Nigel de Jong has been dropped and Riccardo Montolivo brought back in from the cold. Montolivo has his faults - he isn’t Pirlo, nor is someone lacking in pace and dynamism comfortable in a 2 in midfield - but he’s the only player in the squad capable of getting anything resembling a passing game going. Niang, back from injury, now tops the pecking order to partner the ruthless Bacca. Both have searing pace. 

Since Donnarumma’s emergence, Milan’s record in all competitions is won 9, drawn 4, lost 2 - one of the defeats was away to Juventus, the other to Bologna, a game that could have gone either way. They’ve kept their first clean sheets of the season [4] and did show character to come back from behind and get four points away to Frosinone and Roma. Even with Menez, Boa and Balotelli back, however, the Champions League still looks beyond Milan - they’re eight points adrift - but if you think Mihajlovic is exclusively to blame for that and a change of manager would be the answer, with all due respect, you can’t see the wood for the trees.