Views: 564

Antonio Conte spoke at a press conference at the end of Torino-Napoli 0-1. The coach discussed the performance and the squad at his disposal.

The azzurri continue their success after defeating Roma and conquering the Grande Torino. A stellar performance by McTominay who decided the match with a great goal.

Napoli, Conte’s words

Should you have closed it?

“I have a group of players who are very receptive when I ask for improvement. This is what I like the most beyond the result and the standings. We are growing as individuals and as a team, our growth will come with the growth of individuals. I am pleased, a great Milinkovic-Savic left the game at 1-0. And I am not calm because maybe on a corner you concede a deflection…”

Toro is a great team, I was very wary of this match. Even Buongiorno had talked about the Granata environment and their passion, I have been living in Turin for more than thirty years… I warned the boys, it was a mature response”.

Is McTominay the synthesis of his Napoli’s characteristics?

“The final results come to teams that prove to be teams. When you find a team, you know it will be tough: we work to become a tough team in every respect. At times we rely on the result, today we created but there was a great goalkeeper who prevented us from being more comfortable in the end. We continue to work, seeing the growth makes me proud. We are taking steps forward, we must not go back.

McTominay? He was not a protagonist at United, I knew him well because I frequented the Premier League: he has quality, we were good and lucky because he accepted to come to a situation where we were not playing in Europe and after finishing tenth. He could have seen Napoli as a downgrade, instead he came to be a protagonist. And time will prove him right”.

Now there is the Coppa Italia: will those who played less play?

“Certainly… The only difficulty I am having, in quotes, is that when you see a group of 21 players who give you what they give you, they are soldiers, and they deserve more in terms of playing time and space. By not playing in the cups, there are not many opportunities. But it does not mean that we will ignore the cup, absolutely, and I am calm and confident to be able to field the players. I did it with Palermo and I will do it again on Thursday with the aim of progressing to the next round. For me, it is the minimum to understand the improvements that everyone in the squad is making”.

Is this a Scudetto-worthy Napoli?

“Today was the 14th game: looking at the other teams, how they have also prepared for their European commitments, and if we are successful in entering Europe, we will have to strengthen this squad… The president must know this. Today we have 21 outfield players and we have done what a team that only plays in the league and Coppa Italia does.

What I can say, beyond other discussions, is that it is a reason for satisfaction that we are there and that we are handling that pressure. But beyond the result, I see a group that is growing as a collective. It is tangible, it is clear, that what we are doing is progressing. Today I had asked for certain things, we worked to attack more aggressively, and today we did it. I am never satisfied, they know that…”.

And about Toro and Vanoli

“It is a great team, Paolo is a great worker and I always wish him the best”.

Was Kvara impactful enough?

“He was good at attacking the area as he did against Roma. Even against Lukaku, Vanja made an incredible save. If we do things the right way, we can be a nuisance”.