Maurizio Sarri believes Napoli “are simply not equipped to compete with Juventus” and admits “if the club can’t keep six or seven players, then the era is over.”
The Partenopei have virtually lost their Scudetto hopes with a 2-2 draw against Torino, as the Bianconeri now need only one point.
“I don’t think any player or Coach could want more than these fans,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.
Maurizio Sarri believes Napoli “are simply not equipped to compete with Juventus” and admits “if the club can’t keep six or seven players, then the era is over.”
The Partenopei have virtually lost their Scudetto hopes with a 2-2 draw against Torino, as the Bianconeri now need only one point.
“I don’t think any player or Coach could want more than these fans,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.
“With the season practically over, 50,000 people singing and celebrating during a week when you lost all hope. That says everything about how wonderful these people are.
“Aside from being disappointed we were unable to make these fans happy all the way to the end, we must be clear-headed and analyse the facts. Napoli are in certain ways simply not equipped to compete with Juventus.
“Considering that, Napoli had an extraordinary campaign and it was also unlucky, because in the space of four minutes at one stage, we went from being ahead of Juve to four points behind. Those four minutes were the end of Inter-Juve and the start of Fiorentina-Napoli.
“With the resources at our disposal, losing Arkadiusz Milik and Faouzi Ghoulam for months was simply not a blow we could handle. We should be happy with what this team has done.”
Sarri was asked if this represented the end of an era at Napoli and he passed it on to President De Laurentiis.
“There is a contract that has a clause worth €8m. We have 10 days to evaluate the situation. The President gave me the chance to coach the team I’ve supported since childhood, a satisfaction that very few people have enjoyed.
“If he’s happy and I’m happy, then that’s great. If he is not happy, then I’m disappointed, but every now and then Aurelio does make these statements and then 30 minutes later it’s back as if nothing had happened.
“If the era is over, that’s down to the club. If the club cannot keep hold of six or seven of these players, then clearly an era is over. This is a group of players with a culture of hard work and are ready to keep challenging themselves. We could’ve done more without those two injures, but physical fitness isn’t as important as the mind.”