Luciano Spalletti has called on his side to give one big final push to get over the line as they prepare to host Salernitana on Saturday.
The Azzurri know that victory against their local rivals would be enough for them to wrap up the title if Lazio drop points against Inter in the earlier kick-off.
"Tomorrow we'll need to play the game with all our strength,” the coach said in his pre-match press conference. “We'll be up against quality, highly motivated opponents. We must keep pushing hard as we head into the final straight. We know what we have to do: keep doing exactly what we've done up to now. There's only way for us to come out of tomorrow happy.”
What have your thoughts been over the last few days?
"Our first thought is that we have an incredible match before us – for us, for our city, for everyone. We've been waiting for these days to come and now that we're here we have to maintain our calm and prepare for the game as we usually do.”
Has the match postponement affected your training programme?
"First of all, I'd like to stress that our season doesn't depend on the authorities or on fate. We just want to make our fans happy – people who spend hours waiting at the airport to welcome us. Then there are things that are above us that we have to respect and go along with.
"The game would be the same no matter when it was played because Napoli and Salernitana are two great teams who would be playing for their targets regardless.
"We understand the game was postponed for safety reasons. From a technical point of view, we mustn't change anything. There's real desire in the camp and I'm convinced that we'll be able to play the game we want to play.
“I don't know if it will be enough because we're up against an excellent team with a coach I rate very highly. Salernitana are a club planning for the future. [Club president Daniele] Iervolino is doing a fabulous job with passion and expertise. It's going to be an extremely tough match for us against a highly motivated team.”
Can you see the finish line now?
"Having led the race against all our rivals, we have to be ready to for the final stretch. We want to see it through. My players would be capable of running on by themselves but we're a strong, solid group – not the sum of our individual players but a single body.”
Do you think the rest of Italian football admires or envies this Napoli team?
"I don't know. What I do know is that we've been exemplary this season. We've done it with the love of our fans and given them all of our effort. Our fans have been so important on this journey and they deserve our dedication.
"We don't need to answer to anyone. My players can sense what they have built. They've become aware of it as the months have passed and they realise what they are doing. They feel enthusiasm and confidence and they've got to this point by doing things honestly and correctly, all working together.”
“I've been part of lots of teams in my career but seeing the real, spontaneous friendship that's grown within this group of players makes me happy. They deserve a lot of credit for the extraordinary chemistry they've created on and off the pitch.”
