Napoli manager Antonio Conte admits his team was ‘too worried, too fearful’ after their 1-0 loss to Udinese.

The reigning Serie A champions are now sat in third place and could be two points off the lead of the table by the end of Sunday evening.

Conte’s side has had a tough time of it with injuries over the last few weeks, with several key players having spent time on the treatment table. Despite this, Conte has named the same starting XI for three games in a row, within the space of seven days.

“We didn’t concede any shots on goal in the first half, we could have made better of the chances we had,” Conte said. “We struggled at the beginning of the second half, and you could tell there was a bit of fear from there on.”

Conte added that his team needs to improve their away record, having lost seven away games this season. “We have to play well, even in the difficult moments,” he said. “We have to manage situations and we definitely have to improve.”

The Napoli boss also praised his players for their effort, saying that he has nothing negative to say about them. “I have nothing negative to say about the guys who are giving their all in this emergency,” he said.

“We want to work and fight,” Conte said. “We’ve lost seven away games, we have to improve that a bit. The whole club needs to stand together, this year won’t be easy. We need to be united and compact, facing challenges while sticking together.”