Conte intends to continue Napoli journey
Antonio Conte expressed his desire to see out the remainder of his contract at Napoli amid suggestions he was considering his future at the club.
Conte arrived at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in June 2024 to replace Francesco Calzona, who had taken over from Walter Mazzarri just three days earlier.
In his first season at the helm, Conte led Napoli to their fourth Scudetto and their first since 2022-2023, securing a return to the Champions League in the process.
But the Italian's second season in Naples has been anything but smooth sailing, with the Partenopei nine points adrift of Serie A leaders Inter with 11 games of the season left.
In addition, Conte's side was dumped out at the first stage of the Champions League, finishing 30th in the league phase with just two wins from its eight matches.
There have been rumblings that Conte could be reconsidering his future for 2026-2027, having clashed with president Aurelio De Laurentiis on more than one occasion.
"When I arrived at Napoli, I signed a three-year contract, so that is the length of the project," Conte said.
"Every end of the season, we sit down with the President, discussing and evaluating where we want to go. We’ll do it again at the end of this season, very calmly.
"Everyone knows I am very happy in Naples, but at the same time, it is only right to evaluate the project and decide whether it is the right decision to keep going.
"My intention and desire is to continue this journey."
Conte has managed 67 matches in Serie A during his time with Napoli, winning 42 of those and seeing his side net 104 goals and concede just 57.
Across his managerial career, Conte has been forced to tweak his tactics, particularly in his second season at a team in his career.
This campaign he has had to deal with several injuries, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Frank Anguissa all spending notable periods on the sidelines.
But when asked whether he would shuffle his pack further ahead of a meeting with Cagliari at Unipol Domus this week, Conte was quick to shut down that idea.
"We were missing a fundamental element like Di Lorenzo, who, along with Mazzocchi, are the only players who can be full-backs," Conte said.
"So we can't have a four-man defence without Giovanni.
"Throwing away all the guarantees we've earned with this system now would, in my view, be dangerous and potentially damaging for us."
Cagliari is six points above the bottom three having failed to win its last three Serie A matches, after back-to-back wins over Fiorentina and Juventus.
The two teams last met in December in the Coppa Italia, with Conte's side coming out on top 9-8 in a penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw in normal time.
