Under-fire Milan boss Fonseca understands fans' frustration

Dec 19 (Reuters) - AC Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca said the club understood the frustration of the fans after his team were booed at the end of the goalless Serie A draw with Genoa at the weekend and were eager to make amends when they visit Hellas Verona on Friday.

Milan, whose 125th anniversary celebrations were soured by the draw at the San Siro last weekend, are 14 points adrift of leaders Atalanta and eight behind fourth-placed Fiorentina.

With one victory in their last five league games, 19-times champions Milan will target a return to winning ways when they face lowly Verona.

"We all understand the frustration of the fans but there's no one more than us who wants to win. We can work honestly to change the situation, we respect their protest...," Fonseca told reporters.

"If we look only at the results it's true that there is disappointment but I can't speak only about those, I see progress in the team from game to game.

"When we have not won, almost always the problem has not been technical or tactical but of the head. I don't remember matches in which we were dominated, only with Liverpool," he added of the 3-1 home Champions League loss in September.

The Portuguese, who replaced Stefano Pioli at Milan in June, said the mood in the squad was good and he never felt his side lacked desire.

Fonseca also backed left back Theo Hernandez to return to his best after the 27-year-old Frenchman was an unused substitute against Genoa.

"I had spoken to Theo before the match, his situation is easy for me to explain. He has played a lot, he was in the national team, he is not in the best physical condition, he needs to find it again," Fonseca said.

"He is very important for us, it can never be a punishment for him. It's just to get him back to his best, to get him back to the best fullback in the world, because that's what he is for us." (Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)