Antonio Conte proved concerned by the ‘excitment” that accompanied Napoli during the international break, as he urged his team to start over in the ‘right way’.
The league leaders travel to Empoli on Sunday as Serie A football resumes after the international break, and the Partenopei’s tactician expects a match full of trials against a side that lost their first game of the campaign before the two-week hiatus.
Conte felt ‘too much excitement’ for Napoli’s brilliant start
“We’ve hung the sign ‘work in progress’, and it couldn’t be otherwise after just three months because it would mean underestimating everyone and the path we need to take in our reconstruction phase,” Conte said in his pre-match press conference, as quoted by TMW.
“Of course we’re pleased with the work; we’re working well and a lot, with a group of players who are willing to work and this is what matters most.
“We want to take this path and everyone will need to be strong in difficult moments, when things go well it’s much easier, but I know that there’ll be moments when we’ll have to be strong in terms of head, heart and as persons.
“I perceived too much excitement, luckily we start playing again now. There was an exaggerated exaltation during these 15 days, we’ve only played seven games”.
After brilliantly bouncing back from a 3-0 defeat at Verona on their Serie A debut, Napoli find themselves two points above second-placed Inter, but Conte warned his side that things could change quickly given the tight distance between the teams occupying the first positions.
“We are happy to resume in that position, but we know that the table is tight, with a lot of teams within four points and we must be good at starting over in the right way,” he added.
Key player Stanislav Lobotka picked up an injury during the international break and Conte has already decided how to replace him.
“The international break caused us problems, Lobotka came back with an injury to his flexor muscle, it’s not very serious but we need to face it and he needs to recover,” the coach claimed.
“We’re sorry because he was playing at a very high level, but at the same time it’ll be a chance to see Gilmour, I said more than once that he was one of the most harmed players considering how he trained.
“We’re calm and I always said that we must have two starters for each position to build strong and lasting squads to compete in the next three years.
We have just started. There’s a strong player behind Lobotka, we hope he can come back as soon as possible, but we fully trust Billy, who is a guarantee.”
With 10 points from their first seven Serie A games and a single defeat, Empoli proved they can be a tough opponent for everyone.
“We’re talking of a team that picked up their only defeat before the international break, in the closing minutes and on a difficult pitch, against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico,” the coach noted.
“It’s a very organised team with interesting footballers, we know that president Corsi is forward-looking, he’s been in football for many years and he created something sustainable, always creating hardship for his opponents.
“I read that Empoli has always been a difficult pitch [for Napoli], we must respect history, but we need to be ready do write a different one, we know it’ll be difficult due to their strength.
“They have a good manager who is also my friend, he’s a professional and a good person, I’m happy that he’s doing well. We’ll need to be careful. I also read statements from some [Empoli] players talking about organisation and spirit of sacrifice, and we’ll need even more of that to get a result on a difficult pitch.
“Those who know me are aware that I’m never looking beyond the next match, I try to pass this to everyone working with me. We have Empoli now, a team creating difficulties for every side, we need to be very careful.”
Conte reminds Napoli players that ‘suffering is part of winning’
Conte was concerned with the view that Napoli would face ‘softer’ games before taking on Milan and Inter in the following rounds.
“Those who look from outside are much more superficial in saying that our next two games are soft and the following three are tougher,” Conte said.
“You need to play every game, the next one is the match of your life, we must think game by game, you don’t win on paper but there’s the green pitch, the referee, our fans, and on that day we must prove we deserve the three points. Then we’ll move to the following match.
“It’d be silly to think in the long term, every game is difficult. We’ll take stock of what we’ve done at the next break, when we’ll get there. Today we address our destiny.”
The former Nerazzurri coach was also asked whether he can cope with the pressure of managing a team that recently won their first Serie A title in 33 years before a disappointing season.
“I live it as a responsibility, mine is to bring Napoli back to being a solid team that can compete for something important every season. I feel this pressure, but then I understand…
“I like to live in the city and when they recognise you under your hat and glasses they tell you ‘mister, [bring us] the Scudetto’, and I reply to ‘be patient’. Victories are built, you don’t invent them.
“It can happen to suddenly invent them, but what I can promise is to build solid foundations that can last in time. For the rest, I urge them to be patient, as I know the aim is to make the Napolitanean people proud.
“Winning teams can be nice to watch and get their hands dirty, to be chameleonic and understand the match, the day.
“I was a footballer too, a negative day can happen. Even there, you need to know how to handle things. This is why I say it’s important to build solid foundations, we’re all happy when the road is downhill but you need to be even stronger on an uphill road, you need to recognise games that will make you struggle, like Empoli.
“Who’s not used and ready to suffer can’t be a winner, suffering is part of winning, it makes you stronger, and resilience makes your path easier.
“It’s in these games that the spirit of sacrifice, as Empoli players said, becomes an important weapon for them. I won’t accept that we can have less spirit of sacrifice than Empoli.”