Sinisa Mihajlovic says sixth place is "not good enough" for AC Milan and remains optimistic his team can rein in those above them.
Milan's impressive progress over recent months has been halted by a 2-0 defeat at Sassuolo and a goalless draw at Chievo - results that have seen Mihajlovic's men slip 11 points behind Roma and the final Champions League spot in Serie A.
Lazio visit San Siro on Sunday and the Serbian is expecting an improved performance from his players.
The head coach told a news conference: "I am expecting a great performance. I want the players to give me a good display and without errors. If they do that, then the result will follow.
"The result depends entirely on us. It will be a tough match and Lazio have players that can make life hard for us. We have to focus on our game and go for the victory.
"Sixth place isn't good enough for us. Nothing has been lost and we have time to make this a positive season.
"We want to improve our position in the league table. Based on previous seasons, Juventus, Napoli, Roma and Fiorentina started with better squads and that is not an excuse. If we play with the right attitude, we can catch up with our rivals and overtake them.
"We are six points behind Inter and Fiorentina. We have a lot of quality in our squad.
"Our problem in the past couple of games has been in attack. They have to make the difference in this team. Over two games, my forwards cannot afford to not even have a shot on target. As of Sunday they will show what they’re capable of."
Mihajlovic's position has regularly been called into question recently but the former Lazio defender reiterated his desire to succeed at Milan.
"The press are talking about my future, but I am happy to be here and I have another year to run on my contract," he said.
"I am not thinking about my future and I am very happy to be at Milan. When I am at a club, I give 100 per cent and I have no distractions.
"I know how things work in football. I am aware of all the names linked with the Milan bench in recent months, but I am used to all of this."
