Gattuso says his AC Milan are ‘not Brad Pitt’ but winning makes them attractive outsiders in Serie A

AC Milan manager Gennaro Gattuso is never going to draw comparisons with Brad Pitt — and he does not want his team to, either.

The bearded Gattuso is getting compliments as a manager as his rejuvenated Milan have climbed up to seventh on the table, sparking talk it could still sneak into the Uefa Champions League next season.

“We’re not even in the Europa League because Sampdoria is ahead of us in the standings,” Gattuso said. “We’re taking it day by day and let’s not forget how we were two months ago.

“We’re not Brad Pitt. We have to continue being as ugly as me and my beard, with dark circles under our eyes.”

Victory at home over Sampdoria on Sunday would draw Milan level on points with the sixth-placed side, which is currently six points behind fourth-placed Roma and the final Champions League spot.

Milan has momentum. It has transformed under Gattuso.

There were grumblings in November when he took over from Vincenzo Montella.

The club’s other recent moves to hire former playing stars as the coach had not worked out: Clarence Seedorf and Filippo Inzaghi had ignominious spells.

Gattuso, a gritty midfielder who helped Milan to two Serie A titles and two Champions League trophies, got off to a terrible start.

His first match in charge saw Milan draw at Benevento, who had not picked up a single Serie A point all season, after a stoppage-time equaliser from the home goalkeeper.

A mixed run of results followed before the turning point, an extra-time victory over Inter Milan in the Italian Cup quarter-finals.

Since then, Milan has been undefeated and won four of their past five league matches, including a 2-1 win over Lazio.

Winning has increased the focus on Gattuso, and revealed an eccentric nature. After the Lazio win, he allowed his players to slap him in an exuberant huddle.

“I just want to make them happy,” he said. “Especially the players who are angry with me because they are on the bench, so now they have chance to slap me.”

For now, it works. He has succeeded in doing what he said was one of his first priorities when he was promoted from youth team manager, creating a strong sense of team spirit.

That is one of the reasons he does not change his starting line-up much and does not plan to despite a packed fixture list including Roma and Inter in Serie A and Lazio in the second leg of the Italian Cup semi-finals.

“I want to give continuity to the positive things that we are seeing in the team, but everyone’s chance will arrive,” Gattuso said. “I’m changing the team little because I don’t see too much tiredeness, the players are managing to recover without any problems.”