Conte: “McTominay has goals in his blood”

Napoli manager Antonio Conte spoke to the media ahead of his team’s Serie A match against Monza at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The Italian coach discussed his team’s approach to the game and singled out midfielder Scott McTominay for special praise.

Conte began by emphasizing the importance of his team’s build-up play: “We need to be good in the construction phase, to try to find those players who are in certain areas and allow us to attack. We’ll need to be good at this, knowing that Monza is a tough opponent and will come here to play a pretty hard game. We’ll also need a lot of patience.”

The former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager then reflected on Napoli’s current form and progress: “Positive moments need to be built first, and we are working to do that. At this moment, we can’t compare this condition to that of two years ago (during the Scudetto-winning season). In terms of team, chemistry, and everything that was achieved, that was a different Napoli. We are working to rebuild the foundations and try to become competitive again in the near future. Positive results and performances help self-esteem, which is fundamental in the work we are doing.”

Conte reserved his highest praise for summer signing Scott McTominay, highlighting the Scottish international’s goalscoring ability: “Scott is a player who has goals in his blood; he’s very good at making runs into the box. He has excellent technical qualities, as well as an important physical stature. And he’s strong in the air. In his DNA, he has quite a few goals.”