Lorenzo Insigne admits Napoli’s players made a ‘mistake’ for staging a mutiny and claims Carlo Ancelotti should have been ‘breathing down our necks’.
The end of Ancelotti’s reign at Napoli saw Insigne and his teammates refuse to attend a punitive training retreat organised by President Aurelio De Laurentiis.
However, rather than condemning their decision to go against club orders, the coach preferred to keep quiet and sided with his squad.
Lorenzo Insigne admits Napoli’s players made a ‘mistake’ for staging a mutiny and claims Carlo Ancelotti should have been ‘breathing down our necks’.
The end of Ancelotti’s reign at Napoli saw Insigne and his teammates refuse to attend a punitive training retreat organised by President Aurelio De Laurentiis.
However, rather than condemning their decision to go against club orders, the coach preferred to keep quiet and sided with his squad.
“Expectations are always high and you pay for even the slightest mistake,” Insigne told Corriere della Sera.
“I’ve never been let off, but I realised that I had to improve off the pitch too and things are going much better now.
“It wasn’t a good performance [against Atalanta]. Maybe we paid for a bit of tiredness, but a 15-point difference between Napoli and Atalanta is too much.
“There’s much regret. It’s a shame, especially for what we’re doing now. We’ve recovered strongly under Gattuso, but there’s still some bitterness.
“Now it’s useless to think about what could’ve been and what wasn’t. [The mutiny] was a mistake and we paid for it, but luckily we’ve bounced back.
“I’m not one to judge Ancelotti, a coach who has won everything almost everywhere he’s gone.
“He’s used to working with great champions. I always told him that we needed to be put under pressure or even given a wallop if it came to it.
“We’re professionals and we should walk alone, but perhaps we needed to feel him breathing down our necks at that moment.”
The captain then explained why Gennaro Gattuso was a better fit for the Partenopei.
“Gattuso is very demanding and motivates us every second. I feel at the heart of [Napoli’s] project under him.
“He gave me responsibility and confidence, and our relationship is authentic. I hope to pay him back.
“He got angry in Bergamo and warned us to give 200 percent in all our remaining games.
“It’s our duty and also a way to prepare for our commitment with Barcelona.”