Thursday 5 February 2015

I won't discuss Napoli future until April

Benitez: I won't discuss Napoli future until April
Napoli boss Rafael Benitez has reiterated that he will not discuss extending his stay at the San Paolo until April.
The Spaniard took charge of the Partenopei in the summer of 2013 and led the club to Coppa Italia glory and a third-placed finish in Serie A in his first season at the helm.
Benitez is currently on course to surpass that achievement this term, with the Partenopei once again trailing only Juventus and Roma in the league and through to the last four of the cup thanks to a 1-0 win over Inter on Wednesday night.
Crucially, though, they have already lifted the Supercoppa Italiana, in December, and will play in the last 16 of the Europa League later this month.
However, despite his success, the former Liverpool boss is expected to leave Naples at the end of the season.
Benitez, though, would not be drawn on his plans after the Coppa Italia victory, which came courtesy of a dramatic injury-time winner from Gonzalo Higuain.
"My contract? I repeat: we'll talk about it in April," the 54-year-old Madrid native told reporters.
"We're fighting on three fronts. We're taking things game by game, so the goal is always the next game - this is a winning mentality.
"We deserved our win tonight against a team of a very high level. The individual quality of Inter is exceptional and they deserve to be higher up the table.
"We have given a great show for Italian football, an intense game between two squads that wanted to win and in a full stadium.
"The team played more or less how they did before the Supercoppa but now we have more confidence in ourselves."
Benitez also reserved some special words of praise for matchwinner Higuain, who has rediscovered his best form after a slow start to the season.
"Higuain is very strong," he added. "He's one of the greatest forwards in the world."

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