Napoli manager Antonio Conte exposed the emotional toll of a debilitating title race and admitted that the season had pushed him out of his limits while his side is preparing for a final push in the direction of the Serie A title.
Their penultimate match of the campaign was a roller coaster, which ended in a 0-0 draw on Parma on Sunday in which they hit the woodwork and destroyed a stop-time penalty after a long VAR check.
In the end, Napoli goes into the final round with a one-point lead over the second place Inter Milan, but the 55-year-old manager Conte admitted that the season took a toll.
“It is certainly the most difficult season of my career,” Conte told Dazn.
“I gave everything, I went further than my limits. I also know that I am exhausted, I am just the end of this season.
“Napoli is great for passion and enthusiasm, but it also entails demands and expectations that are often higher than the realistic possibilities.”
Napoli can secure their second title in three years at home against Cagliari next Sunday.
“We are close to the Scudetto, but we still have to take that last step. It will be taken on our home grass, with the support of our fans,” Conte told Dazn.
“It is a very difficult campaign, we have achieved what we wanted to do, what the leaders had at the end.
“We have been at the top for a long time, despite a season full of difficulties, but we never complained, we went on and we are immediately there to achieve something unthinkable and historically for Napoli.”
But because of his red card in the last minutes of the Parma match, Conte will not be on the couch against Cagliari after what looked like a scuffle with Parma coach Cristian Chivu.
“I was annoyed by Parma's obstruction today, because I was used to English football, where there are not all these stops for cramps, injuries, pretending I was injured, so it annoyed me and that's why I was sent,” he said.
“It annoys me because you work all year round to have a decisive competition. I trust the staff and these guys, I especially trust the crowd in the Maradona stadio.”