Gian Piero Gasperini says his Atalanta remain “grounded” and see the showdown for third place with Napoli as "an advantage rather than a difficulty."
After a 7-1 haul at home to Udinese and another convincing performance leaving them within three points of league leaders Juventus, Gasperini understandably needs to address questions about the possibilities of competing with the top clubs this season.
That includes Wednesday's opponents, with Napoli looking to get one over their rivals on the San Paolo this week.
Gian Piero Gasperini says his Atalanta remain “grounded” and see the showdown for third place with Napoli as "an advantage rather than a difficulty."
After a 7-1 haul at home to Udinese and another convincing performance leaving them within three points of league leaders Juventus, Gasperini understandably needs to address questions about the possibilities of competing with the top clubs this season.
That includes Wednesday's opponents, with Napoli looking to get one over their rivals on the San Paolo this week.
“We’ve got our feet planted on the ground. The compliments are very pleasing, but this Scudetto talk is purely a media invention,” said the 61-year-old who prefers to focus on the next game ahead.
“Tomorrow we have another test, a more difficult one. At Napoli it will be a tough but prestigious test, they give you the strength to face the others. We recognise the difficulties from this game, as they are the best team in the league together with Inter and Juventus, probably with the best striking options in the division.
"Napoli share a lot of similarities with Manchester City in their style of football. We've gained some credibility over the last few years and the margins have been reduced to the minimum between teams up there.
“We’ll see what we can do, also regarding the table. It won’t be decisive; we are just 10 games into the championship. If it goes well, it will give us a boost. It needs to be an advantage rather than a difficulty.”