Massimiliano Allegri refused to be drawn into speaking about AC Milan's Serie A title hopes ahead of their trip to Pisa on Friday.
Following their 3-0 win over Bologna last weekend, Milan sit second in the table, but they find themselves eight points behind leaders and rivals Inter.
Indeed, Milan are on 50 points so far and should they win at Arena Garibaldi, they would equal their second-best points tally at this stage of a league season.
The Rossoneri managed 53 points in 1995-96, with their best haul coming in 2003-04 when they had 61. In both of those campaigns, they went on to win the Scudetto.
Allegri's side are given an 11.4% chance of overhauling Inter (84.8%) at the summit, while Napoli (2.8%), Juventus (0.6%) and Roma (0.4%) are also in with a shot at glory in the Opta supercomputer's season simulations.
But the Milan boss, as he has done since the start of the season, insisted that the club's main focus remained on sealing a return to the Champions League.
"Today, we're in a good position in the table, but it's not enough," Allergi told reporters as quoted by Football Italia.
"You don't even get to the Conference League with 50 points. The closer we get to the Champions League mark, the better we'll be doing in the standings.
"That's why these games before the derby are so important. We've had a good season so far.
"We started by trying to get back into the Champions League, and at the moment we're in the top four. That's the goal.
"We could have done better in the Coppa Italia, which is our big regret.
"We have to stay focused on our goal, aware that Inter, as we've known from the beginning, are a very strong team.
"Napoli are also strong, Juve are coming back up. It won't be easy to finish in the top four."
But Allegri was not discounting the threat of Pisa, despite their upcoming opponents failing to win a Serie A game since a 1-0 victory over Cremonese on November 7.
Milan have often struggled against sides at the bottom end of the table, most notably the promoted teams.
They were beaten on the opening day of the 2025-26 season by Cremonese, while they also dropped points at home to Pisa and Sassuolo.
"At the moment, Pisa are fighting to stay in Serie A. They're a physical team and create a lot at home," Allegri added.
"They've lost, but have kept games alive. We will have to be very careful and have to be ready for everything.
"[Friday's] match is one of four games that will lead us into the derby. It will be very important all round.
"We only got two points against Pisa, Cremonese and Parma during the first half of the season."
Allegri was also on hand to provide an injury update on his team, with Christian Pulisic expected to be back among the substitutes for Milan.
Rafael Leao and Santiago Gimenez could also feature, but the clash comes too soon for Alexis Saelemaekers.
"Pulisic will be available. He trained with the team for the first time yesterday, but he only has 15-20 minutes in his legs," Allegri said.
"Leao is doing much better, Gimenez even better still. He will be available in around a month.
"Saelemaekers is still out, but he's also doing much better. We'll see if he's available for Como."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Pisa – Rafiu Durosinmi
Should Pisa spring a surprise against Milan, Rafiu Durosinmi could be key to their chances at Arena Garibaldi.
That is because he has been involved in a goal in each of his two home Serie A appearances so far, contributing to two of Pisa's three home goals in the competition this season.
The last player to be involved in at least one goal in each of his first three home games in Serie A was Olivier Giroud in October 2021.
Milan – Adrien Rabiot
Adrien Rabiot has been involved in eight goals in Serie A this season (four goals, four assists), seven of which have come away from home.
Indeed, no other midfielder has been involved in more goals on the road in the current campaign (also seven for Como's Nico Paz).
MATCH PREDICTION: MILAN WIN
Milan are unbeaten in all 13 of their Serie A matches against Pisa (W10 D3). Indeed, this weekend's hosts are the side against whom the Rossoneri have the most encounters against without a single defeat in the competition.
They have won five of their six away matches against Pisa in Serie A (D1), including each of the last four, though Pisa have never lost more consecutive home matches against a single opponent in the top-flight.
And should Allegri's side avoid defeat here, they would equal their third-longest unbeaten run in a single Serie A season (23 games), between September 1992 and March 1993.
Their two longest unbeaten runs in the top-flight were 24 matches between December 1950 and May 1951, and 34 matches throughout the entire 1991-92 season.
Pisa did, however, draw the reverse fixture 2-2, which was the first time they had scored more than one goal against the Rossoneri in the top-flight. But they have never remained unbeaten in both Serie A matches against Milan in a single season.
Oscar Hiljemark's side have drawn half of their Serie A matches played this season (12 of 24), alongside one win and 11 losses, though. Only Udinese in 2023-24 (14) and Juventus in 2024-25 (13) have recorded more stalemates after the first 25 matchdays in the Italian top flight over the last 10 seasons.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Pisa – 17.3%
Draw – 22.3%
Milan – 60.4%