Fiorentina vs AC Milan previewSeedorf confident of keeping AC job

Clarence Seedorf insists he has "always been a winner" and will not surrender the AC Milan job without a fight.

The Dutchman's future in the San Siro hotseat is in serious jeopardy as Milan flounder in 12th place in the Serie A table and face the very real prospect of missing out on European football next season.

The Rossoneri were last year locked in a race for the final Champions League place with Fiorentina, who they visit on Wednesday, but now sit 11 points short of the nearest Europa League berth.

Seedorf - a two-time Scudetto and twice a European Cup winner with Milan - earned a reprieve by securing a point from Sunday's draw at Lazio, but is now targeting a return to winning ways and hoping to save his job.

He told acmilan.com: "I have a way of living that allows me to deal with the pressure.

"I've always been a winner and therefore I will not lose this job.

"I am getting up early and working hard, always for the good of the team and to get results."

"It's always with the best interests of Milan in mind and it will remain so."

After weeks of ineffective displays, Seedorf finally benched Mario Balotelli for the trip to Lazio and has been impressed with the star striker's response in training this week.

"I'm not a soft person," Seedorf added. "It's how you have to manage an athlete.

"I'm very demanding of him because I believe he has the potential to do the things I ask of him.

"Balotelli is also the centre of media attention in Italy, but that doesn't make him any different.

"Yesterday he worked hard in training like all the others, just how it should be."

With midfielder Andrea Poli suspended and forward Stephan El Shaarawy injured, Seedorf could start on-loan QPR man Adel Taraabt. First-choice goalkeeper Christian Abbiati returns following a ban.

Fiorentina, now only seven points behind third-placed Napoli after beating the southerners at the weekend, are missing injured strikers Mario Gomez and Giuseppe Rossi while midfielders Anderson and David Pizarro struggle for fitness.

Coach Vincenzo Montella told the Gazzetta dello Sport: "We can still take third place.

"I can see that I have some players who are giving everything out on the pitch and the team are convinced that what they're doing is right. Sometimes we will make mistakes, but that's okay."