Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri has again defended his Europa League rotation policy ahead of Thursday’s game against Dnipro.
The tactician has fielded weaker sides in Europe this term in favour of concentrating on the Serie A title race.
Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri has again defended his Europa League rotation policy ahead of Thursday’s game against Dnipro.
The tactician has fielded weaker sides in Europe this term in favour of concentrating on the Serie A title race.
“I have to make decisions,” he stated. “Would you have wanted us to get through the group stages in the Europa League and have seven points less in the championship?
“Instead we have seven points more and we’ll try to win the game tomorrow as we look to progress into the next round.
“Anyway, I’ve never used a total rotation policy and I’ll pick the team that offers me the most guarantees on Thursday.”
There are accusations that Napoli are too-dependent on the goals of star striker Edinson Cavani. “We’ve got results before without him, we only lost at Bergamo,” the Coach added.
“It is clear that he is our principal scorer, but we also have Marek Hamsik and Goran Pandev who can score and we’ll see Lorenzo Insigne do that too.”
Mazzarri was also inevitably questioned about his health given reports that he had tests on his heart this week.
“I think my private life should be respected,” he noted. “Nevertheless, I’m feeling good. The affection of the people is pleasing.”
Napoli are third in Group F – one point behind PSV and six shy of leaders Dnipro.