Antonio Conte believes he witnessed a turning point for his Napoli side as they strolled to a 3-0 win over Bologna in their Serie A home opener on Sunday. (More Football News)
Napoli were trounced 3-0 at Verona in Conte's first league game at the helm last week, but they bounced back with a comfortable win over the Rossoblu on Sunday.
The Partenopei's victory was their first on home soil without conceding since they beat Sassuolo 2-0 in August 2023, and Conte feels it was an important moment in his team's development.
"Today we had a great responsibility, that of giving a great response after the second half in Verona," Conte told reporters.
"I had no doubts, these guys are good guys. I see them working... and I got important answers.
"These are three points that are the start of our journey, my first three points as Napoli coach.
"I was emotional, I really cared about it. It's a starting point, we know that we have a journey to make.
"We have to gain confidence and continue to give this sense of unity that we felt today. This makes me happy, we hadn't won for a long time and we did it against an important opponent. Now let's think about Parma."
Napoli had gone eight league games without a victory prior to Sunday's match, with their previous win coming by a 2-1 scoreline against Juventus in March.
Winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia contributed a goal and an assist, and he feels having Conte at the helm is close to a guarantee of success, saying: "I really wanted to get on the pitch and give my contribution to the cause to bring home a very important win.
"I am a footballer who always wants to learn new things, to acquire useful notions to continue my path of growth.
"Having Conte on the bench is certainly a guarantee. Let's hope we can take great satisfaction throughout the whole championship."
