Conte held one-hour meeting with Napoli players pushing for reaction after outburst

Antonio Conte reportedly held a one-hour meeting with Napoli players on Thursday to discuss errors on the pitch and urge the players to show a reaction starting with the upcoming game against Atalanta.

Conte welcomed the last international players at Castel Volturno on Thursday, seeing Eljif Elmas, Mathias Olivera, Amir Rrahmani, Rasmus Hojlund and Scott McTominay return to the pitch to prepare for a Serie A match against Atalanta.

It was the first time Conte met the full team after his furious reaction to the Partenopei’s 2-0 loss to Bologna before the international break.

Conte took a few days off at the beginning of the break, with most of his players on international duty, and returned to Naples on Monday.

Yesterday, he held the first meeting with the entire group, as reported by several media, including Corriere della Sera, Tuttosport and Corriere dello Sport.

Corriere della Sera reports that the first part of the meeting was held in the video room, where Conte and his staff focused on the errors the team made in Bologna, mostly the lack of efficiency in attack, the wrong decisions, mistakes in the final pass and the many distractions that led to Bologna’s goals.

The coach spoke to the team for circa one hour, also touching on his angry post-match interviews and his decision to rest for a few days.

Italian media describe the meeting as ‘constructive’ with Conte urging his players to deliver an immediate response ahead of a packed run of nine matches in 36 days.

Conte won’t hold a pre-match press conference today, but will only talk to the media after the game against Atalanta and on the eve of the next Champions League match against Qarabag.