Conte: Napoli ‘prepared for the worst’, but ‘deserve respect’ | OneFootball

Antonio Conte jokes that Napoli are ‘prepared for the worst’ in their current injury crisis, but believes his side still ‘deserve respect’ as the reigning Serie A champions and has also given his thoughts ahead of Wednesday’s crucial Champions League match against Chelsea.

Conte sat down for his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday’s mega final round of league phase fixtures in the Champions League. 

The Partenopei are currently in 25th place in the table, one position shy of a spot in the play-off round. They will have to pick up a draw at minimum if they are to have any hope of progressing to the next round.

NAPLES, ITALY – JANUARY 17: Stanislav Lobotka of SSC Napoli celebrates with his teammates after scoring his side’s first goal during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and US Sassuolo Calcio at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on January 17, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Conte on Champions League predicament and injury pile up

Conte is hoping to bounce back after a disappointing 3-0 defeat against Juventus in Serie A over the weekend and is also in the midst of an injury crisis: Romelu Lukaku has only just managed to make his first cameo appearance of the season over the weekend, Kevin De Bruyne has missed over 20 matches, Billy Gilmour 19 and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa 17.

Amir Rrahmani, Sam Beukema and Matteo Politano have also been unavailable in recent weeks.

“It never ends,” Conte joked at the beginning of his pre-match press conference. “We have to be optimistic though. We thought we’d seen it all in December. We had a player that started to become decisive for us in Neres, who has, instead, had to have surgery.

“We have to be optimistic, but also be prepared for the worst. That’s our job, even when things aren’t going the right way.

“I have a group of players who are ready to move forwards. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves, we are giving everything, and maybe we haven’t done that at certain points. But there’s no point in looking at the past.”

FC Copenhagen player Thomas Delaney is sent off against Napoli in the Champions League (@fckobenhavn)

Conte went on to discuss Napoli’s current placement in the Champions League standings: “We could have fixed the situation against Copenhagen but weren’t good enough. Now it’s Chelsea, the club world champions. I know them very well, the vision they have, the investments they make, the ambition they have. We will have to try and give everything and also rely on our strong ally – the Stadio Maradona, and we can’t underestimate that.

“The fans know that the result will have to be decisive. We know what it’s like to play with the support of our fans behind us. It would be nice to see a blue wave pushing us on.”

Conte responds to Spalletti

Conte was asked for his take after Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti described Napoli as the ‘former’ champions of Italy, rather than simply, the champions of Italy.

“I’d like to take a break after that game, especially when you have three in quick succession. I don’t understand what he said. Former champions? If he said something like that, it wasn’t a great sentence, it was an unfortunate phrase.

CONTE, TURIN, ITALY – JANUARY 25: Antonio Conte, Head Coach of SSC Napoli, interacts with Luciano Spalletti, Head Coach of Juventus, prior to the Serie A match between Juventus FC and SSC Napoli at Juventus Stadium on January 25, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

“We still wear the Scudetto on our chest and that deserves respect. I would have never allowed myself to say something like that to another team. I’m sorry, because Luciano Spalletti is a great coach, but he has to be a little more careful when he speaks.

“He can’t say that there are still 16 games left if he thinks we’re doing so badly – He’s already taken the Scudetto off us! I’m sorry because we’ve done so much to earn it and we deserve respect. Good luck to him.”

Conte was also asked whether this is the most difficult period of his career to date given his injury battles and the fact that he has only won one of his last six matches across all competitions.

“I think I have a lot of experience, but what has happened this season is inexplicable. All teams have injuries every season, usually they’re muscular, two or three weeks, and then they come back. Having injuries on joints that need surgery is more difficult to explain.

“The fact that Lukaku has been out for six months, De Bruyne for five, Gilmour’s pubalgia, we really hoped nothing would happen with Neres – he needed an operation on his ankle, Anguissa tears something with the national team and is out for four months, is difficult to manage.

“I can’t cry and lose energy over it, I have to focus on what I have and try to find solutions. But, I challenge anyone to show me a team that gets this many issues, and we’re only halfway through the season! Fingers crossed.

“The emergency isn’t over, if anything it’s got worse. We won the Super Cup let’s not forget. The guys are doing extraordinarily, but it goes unnoticed. If we started the season today with this squad, many would think ‘what are they doing?’. Instead, we fight with our heads held high and give everything, including in Turin.”

Conte was also asked how close Romelu Lukaku is to returning to full fitness after making his first appearance of the season off the bench against Juventus over the weekend.

CASTEL DI SANGRO, ITALY – AUGUST 14: Romelu Lukaku of Napoli leaves the pitch after suffering an injury during the pre-season friendly match between Napoli and Olympiacos at Stadio Teofilo Patini on August 14, 2025 in Castel di Sangro, Italy. (Photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images)

Conte admitted that the Belgian is still ‘not at 100%’. “I gave him 10 minutes, but he didn’t show his strength to the fullest. He hasn’t returned to 100%, having a detached tendon isn’t an easy thing.

“Giovane has come in, he can lend us a hand both as a 10 or as a second striker as he did at Verona.

“When we get Anguissa back, which seemed imminent but has been delayed because of a back problem, I have a few other ideas, but you need to have the actual players. We’re the same as we were for Juventus at the moment. We hope that someone comes off the treatment table soon: Gilmour, Frank, Rrahmani, Politano.”