Maurizio Sarri told strikers to ignore Gonzalo Higuain and Napoli must “prove all the doubters wrong,” including Juventus.
The Partenopei begin their Serie A season on Sunday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT) away to Pescara. Click here for a match preview.
“What we expect from this season is to reach 101 per cent of our potential, then we’ll see what that translates to,” said Sarri in a Press conference.
Maurizio Sarri told strikers to ignore Gonzalo Higuain and Napoli must “prove all the doubters wrong,” including Juventus.
The Partenopei begin their Serie A season on Sunday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT) away to Pescara. Click here for a match preview.
“What we expect from this season is to reach 101 per cent of our potential, then we’ll see what that translates to,” said Sarri in a Press conference.
“There are high expectations around Napoli, but La Gazzetta dello Sport placed us fourth in their list of Scudetto contenders. A Juventus player didn’t even name us among the four best teams in Italy. Another Juve figure said we are weaker now.
“So let’s prove all the doubters wrong.”
Napoli lost top scorer Higuain to their arch rivals Juventus when they activated his release clause for €90m, a new Serie A transfer record.
“In football things happen that are beyond expectation and prediction, but on paper Juve have the advantage. I don’t want to talk about a Juventus player, because when the Bianconeri spoke about Higuain and he was at Napoli, it riled me up.
“If we think that we can just replace a player who shattered every record in Serie A, then I don’t think we can do it. We must think of something different, base it on hard work.
“In pre-season we bolstered confidence because not only did we score many goals, but we did it with 17 different players. This is reassuring, but at the same time we cannot underestimate the loss of a player who scored 38 goals in all competition.
“It is impossible to find a striker who can guarantee the same things. Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon can score more than last term, while Milik did better than some of his illustrious predecessors at Ajax. Napoli must focus on launching players of 21-22.”
How will Manolo Gabbiadini and Arkadiusz Milik deal with the pressure of replacing Higuain?
“They shouldn’t give a damn!” replied Sarri. “They cannot be compared to him in this moment of their careers. It’s a pity that Gabbiadini has been in the papers daily over the last month, because he’s got goals in him and needs to be given confidence. It’s not easy if he’s always at the centre of transfer gossip. He’s got a very, very good chance of staying at Napoli.
“The important thing is that we don’t leave the centre-forwards isolated. Gabbiadini likes to run into space, while Milik adores helping the team to build moves.
“Tomorrow’s game is a dangerous one for us, as Pescara are well-organised and Massimo Oddo has an enthusiastic team coming back into Serie A.
“It’ll be difficult for us and we mustn’t underestimate it. I hope the pitch at the Stadio Adriatico isn’t as bad as it looked in the Coppa Italia, where they seemed to be playing beach soccer. If the state of the turf is like that, no wonder Italian football struggles to be sold abroad.”
Sarri was asked if he was the real ‘world class’ figure at Napoli and replied in his typically expletive-laden style.
“That’s rubbish, the players step on to the pitch. I try to give indications and get into the soul of the squad. As well as organisation, a winning team needs enthusiasm. I hope my team is convinced of its strength and that the loss of Higuain isn’t used as an alibi, because we proved we’re great even without him.
“Every player just has to give five per cent more to make up for Pipita’s absence. Last season we relied on Higuain to get us out of trouble, but now we have to rely on our teamwork.”