Marco Materazzi believes his former Italy teammate Gennaro Gattuso has done an incredible job in transforming AC Milan’s second during the second half of the season. The Rossoneri appeared done and out of the quest for Champions League football, but the appointment of Gattuso as the permanent head coach in November has scrapped a brilliant comeback for the club.

Speaking on Omnisport, Materazzi was full of praise for his compatriot despite Milan’s rivalry with his former side Inter, he said: “I believe that when a coach steps up from being in charge of the B team and asks to keep the same contract, while trying to prove himself with the first team, he has proved he can be treated as a top coach. They’ve produced an incredible come-back. Credit to Rino, who was able to create a good atmosphere and a solid group. We’ll see if he gets the job next year too.”

Despite spending over £200m during the summer, Milan was at one stage lying in mid-table, and this raised question marks about the club’s signings. However, under Gattuso, a number of recruits have stepped up to their expectations including Andre Silva, who has been impressive for the Rossoneri since netting his maiden Serie A goal earlier this month.

Milan are currently just five points behind Inter for the fourth spot after going unbeaten for the best part of three months, and the upcoming fixtures could decide whether they can make the jump into the Champions League positions. The Rossoneri have an away trip to league leaders Juventus this weekend, and shortly after, they have a couple of home fixtures against Inter and Napoli, which may make or break their season. Gattuso is currently contracted to Milan until the summer of 2019, but talks are already said to be underway to extend his deal by a further two years.