Conte: 'This is the day I hate being a coach'

Antonio Conte admitted that he was not pleased to have to change Napoli's tactics because of Scott McTominay's absence.

Conte admitted he had just had a very challenging workday.

In the early hours of March 31st, in the 30th round of Serie A, Napoli faced numerous squad difficulties but still managed to brilliantly defeat AC Milan 2-1. "This is one of the days I hate being a coach," Conte shared after the tense match at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Napoli's head coach was forced to make last-minute adjustments to the lineup as McTominay was absent due to the flu, while Leonardo Spinazzola was injured and Stanislav Lobotka also left the field late in the match with a knee problem. Conte even had to risk bringing Frank Anguissa on despite the player not being fully recovered.

“We lost McTominay at the last minute, so I had to take a risk,” Conte said. “That didn’t please me at all, and I really hate my job as a manager.”

"I was planning to use a 4-4-2 formation with Jack Raspadori, but losing McTominay turned everything upside down. I just wanted to take painkillers because I had a terrible headache," he added.

Napoli got off to a perfect start in their crucial match against Milan, taking a 2-0 lead after just 19 minutes thanks to goals from Matteo Politano and Romelu Lukaku. However, Luka Jovic's consolation goal from Theo Hernandez made the second half a nail-biting affair.

"We lost our intensity and started to worry," Conte admitted. Nevertheless, the victory helped Napoli close the gap on Inter in the standings, while also creating a safe distance from fifth place. With Atalanta losing 1-0 to Fiorentina in the same round, the Serie A title race is now just a matter between Inter and Napoli.

“Today’s victory is very important. The next match against Bologna will be difficult, but we are still in the top group,” Conte emphasized. After eight months of work, he believes Napoli can dream of something extraordinary, even though Inter remains the dominant force. Currently, Inter leads the Serie A table with 67 points after 30 rounds, with Napoli in second place with 64 points.

Source: https://znews.vn/conte-day-la-ngay-toi-ghet-lam-hlv-post1542050.html