Soccer Football - Serie A - Napoli v AS Roma - Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy - November 24, 2024 Napoli coach Antonio Conte reacts REUTERS/Ciro De Luca/File Photo
(Reuters) - Napoli head coach Antonio Conte has been pleased with his side's progress so far this season but the Italian is not getting carried away by their impressive start as they lead Serie A in what is shaping up to be a tight championship race.
Having won four Serie A titles in his managerial career, Conte took over Napoli in June after they finished 10th last season.
This term, they have 29 points from 13 matches and are one point ahead of Atalanta, Inter Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio who occupy second to fifth respectively. Juventus are sixth on 25.
"We have to be realistic and know that we're only on day 13 and there are six teams within a few points. It's a balanced league so far, and in my opinion I don't think it will stay that way until the end," Conte told reporters on Friday.
"At the end of the first half of the season it (list of contenders) will start to get a little longer.
"But we're pleased, it shows the work we're doing is good and I'm happy. Day after day we're laying important foundations and I see a continuous growth as a team but also as individuals."
On Sunday, Napoli visit 11th-placed Torino, who are on a four-match winless league run, but Conte does not expect an easy outing.
"It (Torino) is a solid group, it has good quality, it's in mid-table in a quiet way and without a win for a long time, so there are values," he said.
"I live in Turin, almost every Sunday I had the pleasure of going to see the game and it's an environment that I know, nice and warm, strong, attached to history, we'll have to be very careful.
"It's a game to be approached in the right way, with respect for the quality of the opponent and the environment that we'll find and their history."
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
