After their win at AC Milan, Napoli now meet Atalanta on Sunday.
For Conte, the match will be a good barometer to measure where his team are at this stage in their development.
After the great victory against Milan, is there a mental threat with Atalanta?
"There is a danger because it is a strong team, which won the Europa League by beating Bayer Leverkusen who had an unbeaten run of I don't know how many games. It has been in the Champions League for years, it is a team that today should be counted among the strong ones, without a doubt. Credit to the club, to Gasperini who in all these years has done an extraordinary job and I have great respect for Gian Piero who was also my coach.
"When I was at Juve he was the Primavera coach and when I had some injuries I asked to play with his Primavera. I respect him a lot, through hard work he has achieved results, you don't win the Europa League if you are not strong. On a mental level you say, but if we underestimate this match... maybe Atalanta could underestimate it given what happened last year and we don't play cups while they are doing well in the Champions League, they are structured for the Champions League.
"As I always repeat, those who don't play cups like us are at an advantage perhaps because they train even if we are at the third in a week, but then they are far from the structure of the squad of the Champions League teams."
How is Lobotka? Satisfied with Gilmour?
"He will be ready for the next one, we are in the final stages of recovery. It wasn't a small problem in the national team as some had labelled, he is still recovering and we need to be patient. He will be available for the next one. I had no doubts about Gilmour, zero, I've always told you. He was my worry, he deserved to play, then you watched Lobo in the game and he was putting in exceptional performances. I knew Billy's value, he is doing very well and we are happy to have him because he is young and will be able to stay for many years in Napoli."
The team already has your mentality. It resembles you more and more every day.
"I always say 'work in progress', you can't think in 4 months of having transmitted everything. I found a group available, prepared to want to improve anyway and this is thanks to the guys. Availability is the basis of everything, both tactically and physically and mentally, it is not a given and this has accelerated the path, but I repeat, I hope to be proven wrong, but in a construction situation you need a certain path and you have to grow to reach certain levels.
"You can say what you want, but my experience says that we have to do this path and not think of multiple leaps. It is not like that, otherwise the whole theory of work would fall, it would be too simple, but maybe I'm wrong, I hope so, but we have to cover our ears and work. It is a positive moment, but less positive moments can come and this must not distance us from the path."
With Atalanta, a further test after Milan? A potentially Scudetto-winning match?
"I don't know if it can be defined as a Scudetto, but they will certainly try to enter Europe next year, they are already there through the main door, our goal is to get back into Europe by trying to steal the idea from others and enter through the main door. They are a consolidated reality, they have been present in the most important competition for years. The team has grown year after year and the Europa League gives you awareness, they have built a path and continue to do so, strengthening themselves.
"For us they can be an example, they have laid bricks every year, building even after important sales, as they left us because let's not forget that we have lost players, I don't know if we will lose them again, but they have been replaced adequately and they are competitive with work. Great credit to Gian Piero, now they are known as a strong team, I saw it with Arsenal... they are strong, not to praise them, but congratulations to them and they can be an example for us because we have to take steps to become strong and aim for important things."
On the defence and the growth of Kvara and Lukaku. What more do they need to do?
"At the presentation I said about the 48 goals conceded and we shouldn't just blame the defenders, just as today we shouldn't just give credit to the defenders but to the defensive phase, to the 11 players who defend. We all participate in the two phases, see also the goal against Milan with a high pressure, we recover with McTominay, then the ball to the central defender, vertically to a midfielder and vertically to the attacker, we touch all 3 sectors.
"Even in the defensive phase we all do it together, not just the 4 defenders and the goalkeeper. The team has rediscovered that desire and that spirit, it has rediscovered the importance of being united, just like in the offensive phase. I want to underline this, we don't give credit to players or departments, but to the team in general, we are all involved in the two phases. We are happy, it will be a challenging test also on a defensive level because Atalanta has the best attack and we will try to be prepared and organized even if it is not easy against their first thought will be to score and then not to concede, only in this way can you think about the three points."
You said I don't do miracles, would winning this year be a miracle?
"I'm a great believer, even practically, I only know one person who does them. I always pray, even for the team, that they are well, in addition to my family there is also a prayer for the players, I say this sincerely. We, the team and the club can go together, compact, to build something important and that lasts over time, then we say God sees and provides. We must not lack what we have to do, work and make ourselves available, everyone, from the cook to the storekeeper to create something beautiful that can give more points in a championship. We must not make any mistakes on this, we are not in a position to make any mistakes. Then football miracles have always existed, but you have to work to hope it happens, praying is not enough."
The bar is raised after certain challenges, how do you manage the enthusiasm?
"The enthusiasm must be fuel, it's positive, I'll be the last person to put out the enthusiasm, we must ride the enthusiasm, feed it by coming here every day and working with only one thought in mind to make them proud regardless of the result. I want there to be attachment, a sense of belonging, then the result is relative.
"In Milan hearing them sing at the end of the match... it must fill our hearts and give us strength in the difficulty and fatigue. It must give us something more to overcome the difficulties, I will never dampen the enthusiasm, they must be with us. It's right to dream of the most beautiful thing for them, but realistically I must say that it is the beginning of a journey to give stability to Naples, to the president and to the fans who deserve joy."