Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri insists he is planning for the longer term as well as focusing on the present and is not concerned about silencing his critics.

Allegri’s in-form side can cut the gap on Serie A leaders Inter Milan back to two points with victory at home against Sassuolo on Tuesday night.

Juve have gone three seasons without mounting a sustained challenge for the Serie A title since being crowned champions for the ninth consecutive time in 2019-20.

But Allegri does not share some fans’ obsession with reclaiming the crown this season, pointing out there is still much work to do just to secure a top-four finish.

He told a press conference: “We spoke as a team and we know that we’re still missing a lot of things to reach our goal of Champions League qualification, we’re taking things one step at a time, so tomorrow we have Sassuolo and then we’ll think about Lecce.

“We need to avoid making long-term predictions and it’s better to stay focused on the short-term.

“I’m not thinking about whether or not I’ve won the fans back on side, we’re doing well because of the guys who go out onto the pitch and win matches.

“Everybody around the team does our best to put the team in the best place to go out and do just that.

“There are two big differences between ourselves and Inter. The first is that they are a team built to win the Scudetto.

“We started off on a different path and we have to keep working without the obsession of winning the Scudetto.

“We are Juventus and we have to do our very best, but football doesn’t end on May 25. We also have to think ahead to the seasons to come for this group of players.”

Juve will be without suspended defender Federico Gatti, but Allegri confirmed both Adrien Rabiot and Federico Chiesa are back in contention after injury.

Italy striker Moise Kean has not featured since early December and is continuing to work his way back from a leg injury.

The Bianconeri are bidding to extend their unbeaten league run to 15 matches – 17 in all competitions – but lost for the only time in the league this season at Tuesday night’s opponents in September.

Allegri added: “The group has worked well, as always, in the last few days and we know the importance of tomorrow’s game.

“We had a bad night in the first game against Sassuolo and we know we’re coming up against a good team.

“The three points up for grabs tomorrow are important and we’ll have to be very careful tactically.

“Sassuolo are dangerous if you make mistakes against them, so we’ll have to be switched on.”