Luciano Spalletti criticised the media for ‘trying to bury how good Napoli’s season’ has been and is looking forward to working with Kvicha Kvaratskhelia.
The Partenopei will end the campaign in third place in Serie A, having seen their title ambitions fall away in the final weeks amid tension and irritation from fans.
It means the coach has been subjected to insulting and threatening banners urging him to leave the club after just one season.
“What happened over the last few weeks irritated us more than anyone, but what really makes me angry is people trying to bury how good Napoli’s season was,” said Spalletti.
“There could’ve been a thousand different reactions after our defeat to Empoli. We had great performances, scored 10 goals without conceding any, we won eight in a row at the start of the season.
“Defeats can happen, although admittedly five at home are too many. Perhaps we are not yet mature enough to these things, or struggle once we hit a certain level. That’s not good.”
Napoli are planning for next season, with Lorenzo Insigne released as a free agent to Toronto FC, while the futures of Dries Mertens Kalidou Koulibaly, Victor Osimhen, Hirving Lozano and Fabian Ruiz are far from guaranteed.
They do know one of their new signings will be Georgia international Kvaratskhelia, a versatile 21-year-old attacking winger who can play on the left or right.
“He is a strong, muscular player with quality in tight spaces,” added Spalletti.
“One of those players who can find a genial solution among the options available, the kind of player all coaches love to work with, and he scores goals too.”
#Spalletti: ‘#Napoli, forse non siamo abbastanza maturi. Vi racconto chi è #Kvaratskhelia‘ https://t.co/EN4yeCEBrM pic.twitter.com/4aBK0llKiK
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) May 16, 2022