Benitez confident Napoli will be "competitive"

Posted Friday, August 16, 2013 by Foxsports.com

Napoli coach Rafael Benitez is positive ahead of the new Serie A season and stated that the side, bolstered by several new signings, is adapting well to his methods.

Benitez confident Napoli will be

Financed by the €64 million sale of star forward Edinson Cavani to Paris Saint-Germain, the Spaniard has brought in seven new players which includes the likes of Pepe Reina, Gonzalo Higuain, Raul Albiol and Jose Callejon

It remains to be seen if the new signings will integrate well into the Napoli set-up and help the Partenopei challenge for domestic honours.

Benitez, however, is confident that Napoli will, at the very least, be a "competitive" unit as he has observed that the signs emanating from all quarters have been positive in recent weeks.

"The evolution of the team is continuing," Benitez told the Napoli website. "Every week and with every game you can see that they are improving."

"In my opinion it has been really good. The players' commitment is there, everyone is working very hard, and everything around the Dimaro training camp is fine. I was really pleased.

"The team has been adapting to a new manager, new ideas and we changed the system, the way that we train. You can see during the games we've already played that they are enjoying time with the ball, working hard in defence.

"Tactically the team is different, but they are trying to do their best."

The ex-Chelsea manager is particularly pleased about the depth of the squad that he has under his command.

"The club is making a step forward. I have 16 players away on international duty, which is a record for the club and shows the international nature of the team," he continued.

"The side is growing, the city is enjoying it and the fans are behind the team, so that is a key factor for us.

"When you see the fans behind the team with the level of play that we have at the moment, I don't know what can happen but I'm sure we will be very, very competitive."

Napoli, who finished nine points adrift of eventual champions Juventus last term, begin their domestic season against Bologna at the Stadio San Paolo on August 25.