Filippo Inzaghi... significant year in coaching.

Milan’s Filippo Inzaghi believes his career will benefit in the long term from his turbulent first season as a Serie A coach.

Inzaghi, promoted from the youth team in June for his first senior coaching role, has faced almost constant speculation over his future since Milan suffered a bad run following the winter break.

Their miserable season continued on Sunday when they lost 3-0 at Napoli, their third defeat in a row and fifth match without a win, to leave them languishing at joint tenth.

Whatever happens in Milan’s last four games, Inzaghi, who clung on to his job after a humiliating 3-1 home defeat by Genoa in midweek, is expected to be replaced at the end of the season despite being only halfway through a two-year contract.

“I am very proud to have been given the possibility of coaching Milan and I will keep giving everything until somebody tells me the contrary,” he was quoted as saying yesterday.

“I think it has been a significant year which will help me in my career as coach, in the good times and in the bad times.”

Milan, almost certain to miss out on European football, made a promising start to the season but Inzaghi said it all went wrong following a spate of injuries, including to captain Riccardo Montolivo.

The midfielder recovered from the broken leg which ruled him out of the World Cup, only to be plagued by nagging muscular injuries and has played only 10 games.

“With so many injuries, we lost our identity a bit in January and February, and we were also missing our captain who gives our team a different personality,” Inzaghi said.

Inzaghi, who spent most of his playing career at Milan, dismissed suggestions of rift with forward Mattia Destro, who reacted angrily after being substituted against Napoli.

“No player is happy when he is substituted. Destro was not substituted because he was playing badly,” the coach added.