Napoli coach trying to bring team back down to earth

Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri is trying to keep his players from getting carried away with the Champions League by insisting he isn't interested in who they draw next.

Naples was in party-mood in midweek after Napoli won 2-0 at Villarreal to qualify for the Champions League knock-out rounds with potential clashes against the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Arsenal coming up.

But Mazzarri just wants his side to concentrate on their next league game against lowly Novara on Sunday night, particularly with Napoli trailing league leaders Juventus by nine points.

"We're concentrating exclusively on tomorrow's opponents," said Mazzarri at Saturday's pre-match press conference.

"I gave the players a day off (after the Villarreal match) because on a mental level they needed that.

"Obviously we want to claw back some ground in the league following our Champions League achievement.

"We're a strange team, we've beaten some of Europe's super-powers but we've struggled against little teams in the league which is why the Novara match is a challenge that must not be underestimated.

"We need to be hammers."