Ancelotti: I Still Believe In My Squad
By Joshua Walters
Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti has maintained his belief in his players after their Europa League elimination at the hands of Arsenal on Thursday.
The Naples-based club crashed out of the competition at the quarter final stage following a 1-0 home defeat to the Gunners, culminating in a 3-0 aggregate victory for the English side after losing the first leg 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
The Italian trainer, who is in his first season at the club, stated that they will have to press on despite their European disappointment.
"I still believe that the squad is full of quality. The players have done all they could but this is football," he told a news conference.
"At times not everything goes your way.
"We tried, we look forward, there won't be drama from the players or the club.
"Everyone is united and is trying to bring the club further forward from what we've done this season.
"I don't think Napoli has managed to reach many quarter-finals in European competitions in the past, so our objective is always to improve."
The former Bayern Munich, Chelsea and PSG manager will now channel his attention towards helping Napoli tighten their grip on second place in the Italian Serie A as they currently hold a seven-point advantage over third-placed Inter Milan with eight games of the season remaining.
"Obviously we are very disappointed to go out of the Europa League. We've failed in this objective and we know it was going to be difficult," he said.
"We know there are no Italian teams in the semi-finals of European competitions.
"We knew from the start it would be tough.
"This season, on our results, we think we should finish second in Serie A. That's not too little for us.
"We need to prepare well for next season knowing the team has been renewed, and it will be renewed for next season."
Napoli's exit from the competition means no Italian club progressed to the semi finals of both the Europa League and the Champions League after Juventus were also eliminated by Ajax Amsterdam in Europe's premier club competition.
