Elif Elmas has fired off an ominous warning to the rest of Serie A by insisting that Napoli have no intention of slowing down.
"Eighteen points is a big margin but honestly we're not looking at the table because we want to try to win every game we have left,” the 23-year-old said in an interview with Radio Kiss Kiss, two days before the Azzurri host Lazio at the Stadio Maradona.
"We're playing good football and our aim is to maintain this pace and keep doing what we're doing because we deserve to be where we are.
"We're not getting carried away and we're not going to ease up at all. There are lots of games still to play and to be perfectly honest we're just thinking about the Lazio match and getting three points from that.
"We have three home games in a row and it would be great if we could put a show on for our fans and secure some big results.”
Napoli showed just how tough a proposition they can be against Empoli as they continued to look impenetrable even when playing a man light.
"Last season that fixture against Empoli was bitterly disappointing. This time we went there intent on winning and ready to scrap and dig in together.
“We showed our strong we are as a team when we went down to ten men. We didn't give them a look-in and saw out the game quite comfortably.”
The North Macedonian midfielder went on to praise the influence Luciano Spalletti has had on the current Azzurri side.
"It's a real joy to be coached by Spalletti. I admired when he was at Roma and although I was only young at the time I hoped to get the chance to meet him. When he joined Napoli I was thrilled and you could see straight away how good a coach he is. We're reaping the rewards of his work. We wouldn't have got this far if it wasn't for him. He's been so important for our development.”
The midfielder has notched six league goals already this term – his best-ever return from a single Serie A campaign with a third of the season remaining - but says he is aiming higher still.
"I think my best goal was the one was against Udinese, but every goal is wonderful because scoring it's an amazing feeling. I've got six goals so far and I'd like to reach double figures by the end of the season.”
