3 Things AC Milan Must Do to Make a Push for the Europa League

AC Milan cannot afford another season out of Europe. 

The Champions League is a distant dream and probably impossible. The Rossoneri are 12 points out of third place with 12 Serie A games remaining in a race against many faster and tougher thoroughbreds. 

Now it's down to the Europa League.

They have to target the sixth spot, which will guarantee qualification if the Coppa Italia winner has already locked down a European berth. That will most likely be the case.

Let's take a deeper look at Milan's three keys to European qualification—from the least to the most important.

—UPDATED ON WEDNESDAY, 11 MARCH—

Stick with a System

Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

The Rossoneri have not won more than two games in a row this season. That is an indictment on the stability of the club. 

Coach Filippo Inzaghi has not made things easier: Every game he changes the lineup, and sometimes even the system. 

Injuries have forced out some major players. Nigel de Jong has missed several games in 2015, and Riccardo Montolivo has struggled to stay fit at all. But the lack of consistency is killing Milan. 

But Inzaghi tinkers too much with the overall set-up, particularly the defence.

There is no one set centre-back partnership. The additions of Gabriel Paletta and Salvatore Bocchetti have only brought more doubt to the back-four.

Selecting Sulley Muntari on a somewhat regular basis is also hopeless. In the past two games, he has been directly involved in goals against Milan: two critical turnovers versus Juventus and one penalty conceded to Hellas Verona at the weekend.

The Ghanaian does not deserve more playing time. The team deserves more direction.

Beat Mid-Table Clubs

Felice Calabro'/Associated Press

The problem with Milan is a lack of belief. 

They had no problems beating a Champions League-calibre opponent like Napoli but continue to wrestle in the swamps with the mid- and low-level squads of Serie A.

Draws against Chievo and Empoli and losses to teams like Atalanta are just not acceptable. Europa League qualification depends on defeating these clubs.

Milan have a chance to correct those wrongs. In the final stretch of the season, they face almost every single opponent jockeying with them for the right to play in Europe next season. Sampdoria, Inter, Genoa and Torino are all up ahead.

If they cannot win out, they will only have themselves to blame.

Keep the Lead

Luca Bruno/Associated Press

Milan have dropped 16 points from winning positions in Serie A this season. They are incapable of holding a lead, and it's destroying them.

The Rossoneri have the ability to score early and set the tone but then usually slink back and allow their opponents a route into the game.

Even at home, they are weary. They blew two more points against Hellas Verona at the weekend thanks to a last-second equalizer. 

The bleeding has to stop. Inzaghi cannot make negative substitutions and expect the team to respond with confidence. They need their coach to make strong decisions.

The Rossoneri have to learn to play with an advantage.