Napoli, Conte is confident: "We've put the pressure on Inter; our sights are set on the Scudetto"

Did you expect more from the midfield and the attacking midfield? "We made too many mistakes; we could have done better and taken more control of the game, given that Cagliari weren’t pressing us. In the second half we went in search of a second goal; in these matches, anything can happen. We go into the break with three points, waiting to see what the others do. Three points for the Champions League places – we’ve been extraordinary over the last seven months in staying among the top teams. We’re keeping an eye on those ahead of us, but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves; it doesn’t take much to be overtaken by those behind.”

Chances of winning the title? "The return of certain players is certainly important, but it’s crucial to be at 100%. Anguissa and McTominay aren’t quite back to their best yet, whereas Kevin has looked good. Lobo has struggled a bit, and we need to get Rrahmani and Di Lorenzo back to full fitness – let’s hope we can do that. I think it’ll be difficult for Neres. We’ve held our own over these seven months; now we need to qualify for the Champions League, but we know other teams want to do the same. No one should stop us from looking ahead; today we’ve put a bit of pressure on those ahead of us.”

Was it important not to concede a goal? "It was important to keep a clean sheet after 11 games; Cagliari didn’t have a single shot on target today. We all defended well: there was great commitment and determination. The lads understood the importance of the match, even though we’re struggling a bit to convert our chances."

Then at the press conference:

“We need to be more clinical; going 2-0 up would have given us more peace of mind. I always tell the lads, a 1-0 lead doesn’t give you any peace of mind at all, because a corner, a long ball, a rebound or a scramble in the box, you risk conceding an equaliser and throwing away two points. However, we did well and I’m very pleased with what we’re doing, because I keep saying that what we’ve achieved so far, over these seven months, has been extraordinary – seven months in which, despite major crises, we’ve still managed to stay up there among the top teams.

Now all the players are coming back, even those who’ve been out long-term; they’re not quite at their best yet, but having them all available gives me the chance to make changes and, even during the match, to inject fresh impetus, new energy into the team, and new quality.

Is the double playmaker setup with McTominay and De Bruyne in their natural positions something that needs to be fine-tuned to reach its full potential? "The double playmaker setup is a bit… it’s not exactly a new concept, no, because the way we’re playing with this midfield quartet, the players can change: Lobotka can play alongside Anguissa, McTominay can play with Gilmour, or Elmas with Lobotka – so the double playmaker setup has always been there since we changed our system. Then the players might change, but the concept remains the same in terms of movement and what they need to do. It’s inevitable that when you have two specific playmakers, you lose a bit of physicality, because without McTominay or Anguissa in the middle of the park, or Elif himself, you lose a bit of physicality; perhaps you gain more quality, you should gain a bit more quality in passing. However, we’ve always used the double playmaker system; the players may change, but we’ve been working on the four-man midfield since I returned, that is, after the break we had in November. And we’ll continue because, in any case, it’s a system I like and it causes problems for our opponents.”

How pleased are you that Napoli have managed to keep a clean sheet again? "First and foremost, I’m pleased with the win – our fourth in a row – which comes just before the international break. The last time, as you’ll recall, we lost in Bologna and we were pretty angry for the following fortnight. Now we have the chance to enjoy these two weeks before facing Milan when the league resumes. At the same time, we’ve finally kept a clean sheet. Today we did well not to let them get shots on goal, as we conceded zero shots on target. I’m pleased from that point of view, though a little less pleased with our finishing because we still need to be better, more clinical and more ruthless when we get into scoring positions."