Napoli may be three points off leaders Inter Milan in the Serie A title race but the club’s first priority is qualifying for the Champions League having missed out last season, manager Antonio Conte said on Friday.
Napoli, who were crowned champions for the first time in 33 years in the 2022-23 season, finished a disappointing 10th last year, prompting the club to hire Conte who has overseen a renaissance in Naples to make them title contenders again.
With six games left, the Scudetto could go either way and Conte urged Napoli’s fans to “continue dreaming” of another title but not before securing their return to Europe’s premier club competition.
“First of all, we have to earn a place in the Champions League. Beyond everything else, we will have the opportunity to get closer to a prestigious goal that could not be foreseen at the beginning of the year,” Conte told reporters ahead of Saturday’s trip to Monza.
“But we have said it, we are there, clearly we will try to make as much trouble as possible until the end… We are doing something that goes beyond expectations given what happened last year.
“We have to continue to feed it (our dream) with all our strength… It has not been easy so far and there will be other obstacles to overcome. We will have to be as good as we have been so far, without excuses.”
However, Napoli have not won on the road since January – a run of five games which includes four draws and a 2-1 loss at Como.
“These are irrefutable facts, then the fact is that we are second, three points behind Inter. Even if we haven’t won for a while, we haven’t lost for a long time – only in Como,” Conte said.
“We have many points and we are second, the result of consistency at home and away. Then maybe we can divide the periods, but the regularity is there and only in this way can we achieve the objectives set.
“We don’t win away from home and we would like to start winning again, this is always our aim.”
