Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri felt proud that Diego Maradona took the time to talk about him, even though the club legend said he is out of his depth in Naples.
Maradona stated in a recent interview that Sarri is not the right man for the job at the Partenopei after he began the Serie A season with two draws and a defeat.
The former Argentina coach, who won two Italian titles during his time in Naples, also suggested that Napoli made a mistake in letting Rafa Benitez go, doubting that Sarri will be able to bring any success to the Campania club.
"Diego's an idol and I hope I can get him to change his opinion in the coming months," Sarri told a news conference. "Just the fact that he knows me fills me with pride."
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis was of a different opinion, however.
He has had several disagreements in the past with Maradona and has now accused him of being out of touch with the reality of the club.
"I've read what he said and he's being sensationalist," De Laurentiis said. "I would like to remind him that in a city that is as difficult as this one, we've been growing and growing, and that is not only measured in the number of trophies you win, but also how you strengthen the club."
Sarri is preparing for his first game in Europe on Thursday as Napoli host Club Brugge in the Europa League.
The 56-year-old, who has coached the likes of Empoli, Hellas Verona and Perugia, said he is unconcerned by his side's stuttering start to the season.
"Getting results helps you to grow, but at the moment it's better that we look at the performances," Sarri said. "In all the games we've played, we've alternated good things with less good things, and so far things have been going against us. But that can happen over a small period of time.
"We need to commit fewer mistakes and let's hope we can improve quickly. We're not lacking much to be at our best. We're training really hard, although I get the feeling that the team are showing more aggression in training than they are in our actual matches.
"We need to learn how to manage ourselves better in games because you can't dominate for 90 minutes. There's always going to be a quarter of an hour when you're under pressure and we've got to learn above all how to deal with these moments.
"In all of my previous experience, I've had the worst defence after 10 games and then in the end, I had one of the best defences."