Conte says Napoli not 'feeling sorry for ourselves'
Antonio Conte insisted Napoli cannot feel "sorry for ourselves" amid its injury crisis, as he continues to seek solutions.
Napoli is currently on an eight-match unbeaten streak in all competitions and ended a run of three consecutive draws with a narrow 1-0 Serie A win over Sassuolo on Sunday.
However, that victory came at a cost, with Matteo Politano and Amir Rrahmani joining the club's lengthy injury list.
David Neres, Frank Anguissa and Kevin De Bruyne were already on the sidelines, with Romelu Lukaku still not in a position to play as he recovers from a long-term injury.
Conte is confident Napoli can continue to find a way to win when it faces Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday.
"We try to focus on who is there, we always try to find solutions," Conte said. "We've done it over the last few days, trying to prepare for this game, and I hope we can bring that to the pitch.
"Inevitably, we have to change a little bit: We lost both Politano and Rrahmani in the last game. Neres also continues to have that ankle problem that we've not been able to solve.
"We need to find solutions without feeling sorry for ourselves. When the unthinkable happens, it becomes difficult, but I am confident."
Napoli is 23rd in the Champions League table on seven points and are at risk of dropping out of the play-off places, with only one point separating it and Benfica.
The Partenopei have never faced Copenhagen before, but they have won all four of their previous games against Danish opposition in European competitions.
Napoli has lost each of its last five away games in the Champions League, conceding at least two goals in each defeat, while Copenhagen is aiming to win three consecutive games in the same edition of the tournament for the first time.
"Making estimations about the opponent seems unhelpful to me," Conte said. "We're so focused on ourselves that we haven't thought about that. We've come off a big run, playing every three days. I think this is our fourth game in nine days.
"That's absurd. Those who put the schedule together should understand that footballers are subjected to extreme physical and mental stress.
"So, we're focused on ourselves, trying to do our best. We know we'll face an excellent team, one that is very prepared physically and tactically.
"It will be a nice stadium, our fans are coming, and we are happy about that. They'll give us a big hand to do something special."
Scott McTominay (three) and Rasmus Hojlund (two) are the only two Napoli players who have scored in the Champions League this season.
"I can only speak positively about Rasmus," Conte said of the Dane. "He's a fantastic guy, he's only 22 years old, but in my opinion, he still has lots of room for improvement.
"In just four or five months, he's grown a lot from a tactical and physical point of view. He understands when to attack space, the way he has to position himself with the ball.
"He's a very important player for us. I think he could become even stronger in the future."
