Antonio Conte, the head coach of Napoli, talked about the condition of his team before facing Chelsea in the final stage of the Champions League group stage, affirming that the team still deserves respect as the reigning Italian league champions, and that they are preparing for the worst amidst the injury crisis the team is experiencing.

Conte said: "Injuries never end, we have to be optimistic. We thought we had seen everything in December, but we are always preparing for the worst, it is our duty even when things are not going well."

He added: "I have a group of players ready to move forward, we are doing our best, and maybe we haven't done so at times, but there is no point in looking back."

Conte addressed Napoli's position in the Champions League standings, confirming: "We could have improved our position against Copenhagen, but we were not up to the responsibility, now we face Chelsea, the Club World Cup champions."

He explained: "I know them well, I know their vision, their investments, and their ambition, we have to do everything we can, and also rely on our strong ally, the Maradona stadium and its fans, and we cannot underestimate that."

He continued: "The fans realize that the result must be decisive, we know the feeling of playing with the support of our fans, it would be great to see a blue wave pushing us forward."

In response to Luciano Spalletti's comments about Napoli, Conte said: "Spalletti said about us that we are former champions? If he said something like that, it is an unfortunate phrase, indeed regrettable, we still hold the Italian league title, and that deserves respect."

He added: "I would never allow myself to say something like that about any other team, I am sorry, because Luciano Spalletti is a great coach, but he must be more careful with his words, he has already taken away our Italian league title, we worked hard to deserve it, and for this, we deserve respect, and I wish him the best."