Napoli's coach Gennaro Gattuso praised his players after they produced a solid showing to beat Inter 1-0 (Fabian Ruiz) in the Coppa Italia Semi-final – but called on them to replicate the same sort of performance more consistently.
“The lads deserve massive credit for their performance today but we can't be happy yet,” the Azzurri coach insisted after the final whistle.
“We have to keep this up. I can't say anything else because we still have work to do. We did brilliantly today to match a formidable opponent but I want to see that same attitude all the time.
“We have at least another 17 games to go besides the return leg so there's plenty to play for. We must tackle those matches with the same level of focus and intensity we displayed today.
“I opted for a more cautious approach tonight because when you play a better team – one which is top of the league – you must respect them.
“Inter are a technical team but they're very physical too. We obviously had to block their two strikers and work as a unit to ensure they didn't get time on the ball. We did that well tonight but I'd like us to defend the same way all the time.
“We moved the ball around well today too and we need to keep possession because we're not a team that can maintain a high intensity for the entire game. We can't scrap constantly so we have to play to our strengths and keep the ball moving.
“The problem is we're still very erratic. We were lax against Lecce, perhaps thinking that a team-mate would deal with the problems. There were times when we seemed to be standing still.
“We looked a different side tonight – and that's the team I want to watch all the time. We're pleased with the result but we can't be happy. We have a lot of hard work to do because there's a long way still to go.”
(Photo Getty Images)
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Source: legaseriea.it