AC Milan midfielder Nigel de Jong insisted that the Milan side's head coach Filippo Inzaghi should not be blamed for their 2-0 loss to Palermo at home on Sunday.

Inzaghi was booed by fans who were apparently disappointed with the Milan side's performance against Palermo. De Jong believed it was unfair, as the whole team should take the blame.

"It's not his fault," the Dutch midfielder said. "We win together and we lose together. Of course when we lose, he's the first one to be blamed because he has to face the cameras. We have a lot of work to do."

His teammate Keisuke Honda admitted that Milan have no other option than to beat high-flying Sampdoria on Saturday.

"I think we have to win on Saturday against Sampdoria," the Japanese player said. "We have to show what we're made of, I think we can do it. We've started a new project under Inzaghi, I really like this team and I think we can do it."