Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri has defended his lack of focus on young players.

Mazzarri has been criticised for not using the likes of Federico Fernandez, Ignacio Fideleff and January signing Eduardo Vargas with more regularity.

"Look at how many youngsters Milan and Juventus use," he said. "You can't finish third with kids.

"At the end of the day Fernandez has played a lot more than we imagined. After all, what was I supposed to do? Leave out Paolo Cannavaro…

"You have to look at the objectives of a club before unleashing youngsters in Serie A. If you're asking me to survive then all of the younger players can be used.

"However, if you want to finish in the top three then it becomes a lot more difficult.

"Don't forget that after our loss to Chievo, I was asked why I had fielded so many younger players."