3 Ways Sinisa Mihajlovic Can Make AC Milan Better in 2016

2015 was a year to forget for AC Milan. They squandered a decent start to the 2014-15 season and finished outside of the European places for the second year in a row. After making yet another coaching change in the summer—their third since January 2014—they endured a rough start to the new season, losing four of the first seven games.

They've only lost once since—a 1-0 loss to Juventus in Turin in November—but even when they've avoided defeat, they've endured some embarrassments. They were held goalless by both Atalanta and Carpi, being thoroughly dominated by the former. They failed to hold a lead for more than five minutes in a 1-1 draw against bottom side Hellas Verona, a team that hasn't won a game all season, in their penultimate game before the winter break.

Fortunately, their successful October and their ability to avoid defeat has left them in sixth, again in position to make a run at the European places. Now the question is what they can do to get better.

That falls to manager Sinisa Mihajlovic. The Serbian tactician has endured questions about the security of his job despite having Milan in a better position than they were in last year—the product of owner Silvio Berlusconi craving instant gratification after spending more than €80 million in the summer transfer window.

But Mihajlovic is definitely the right man to make Milan better—and here are three ways that he can do it.

Keep the Lineup Consistent

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It's never a good idea to keep a lineup in flux.  If the starting XI becomes too much of a revolving door, it's hard to develop chemistry.

Changing things to try to find new combinations and new qualities among one's players is always a temptation. In Mihajlovic's situation, it can be especially tempting given the unnecessarily massive squad he has at his disposal.

He has occasionally hit on a good move. Reinserting Riccardo Montolivo at the regista position improved the Rossoneri's passing game. M'Baye Niang has made a fast start since coming back from a leg injury in November and could prove to be the revelation of the season.

But the majority of the moves available to Mihajlovic at this point aren't likely to meet with such success. His squad is large, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're deep. Most of the players he doesn't already use don't have all that much to offer the team.

For the best results, Mihajlovic needs to keep his team as together as possible and allow them to develop as much chemistry as possible. Any tinkering with the lineup at this point will only be detrimental.

Get Carlos Bacca Service

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Carlos Bacca has had a good season. He's scored eight times and has generally been a threat in a league that is generally unforgiving to newly arrived strikers.

What's frightening is Bacca's numbers could be a good deal better. His problem is he isn't getting service. According to WhoScored.com, he has only taken 1.5 shots per game. To use Juventus' roster as a comparison, Paulo Dybala is averaging 3.1 shots per game and even Simone Zaza, who has played just 284 minutes to Bacca's 1,344, averages two per match.

The Colombian simply isn't being put in positions to score goals. The only reason he's scored as many times as he has is that he's been frighteningly accurate. According to Squawka, Bacca has hit the target with 71 percent of his shots—that's 15 of 21, not including five that were blocked.

With that kind of accuracy, Bacca could easily rival Serie A scoring leader Gonzalo Higuain's numbers if he got the right kind of service. Unfortunately, Mihajlovic has only one player—Giacomo Bonaventura—who has exhibited the requisite creativity.

With so few creative players available, Mihajlovic is going to have to manufacture chances for Bacca tactically. It's his job to figure out exactly how to do so, but one thing is clear: Milan will struggle to break out of mid-table unless they can get their hitman more consistent service.

Shore Up the Defense

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Defense has been a problem for Milan since the sale of Thiago Silva in 2012. This season, Milan has shipped 21 goals in Serie A—more than four of the six teams that sit behind them in the table.

The team went a long way toward fixing that by signing 20-year-old center back Alessio Romagnoli in the summer.  The youngster might be showing warts as he continues his development, but he's proving he could be a huge piece of the team's future.

The problem is what's around him. While Luca Antonelli is solid at left-back, the other two positions are more in flux. Romagnoli has had four different partners in the middle. Alex seems to be the best of the four, but he's 33 years old, and while he is difficult to face up to and dribble around, if a fast player gets behind him, he can struggle to catch up.

On the right, there's constant change. Ignazio Abate has been on and off the field because of injuries, and Mattia De Sciglio isn't doing anything to arrest the decline he seems to have been on since the middle of the 2013-14 season.

Romagnoli is a potential star in the making, and Antonelli is a solid piece on the flank, but the rest of the line is still a work in progress. Mihajlovic needs to find the right combination at the back and the right way to play them in order to improve his leaky defense.