Billy Gilmour reveals overcoming Napoli 'culture shock' as Scotland star eyes Serie A title glory - Football Scotland
Billy Gilmour has opened up on the biggest 'culture shock' he has had to overcome since moving to Napoli.
The Scotland international is playing a key role with player of the year shoo-in Scott McTominay to help propel Antonio Conte's team to Serie A glory.
The Partenopei are top of the table and three points clear of Inter Milan with just three games left.
And in an interview with Lega Serie A on the eve of the 1-0 victory over Lecce at the Stadio Via del Mare on Saturday, the ex- Chelsea man admitted: “I think the language is the biggest cultural shock. I am able to speak and understand more.
"I got told not to listen to songs if I am going to learn Italian properly. I’ve just heard a couple of songs in the dressing room and got told they are Neapolitan.
“My expectation coming here was to try something new.
"The Premier League is excellent, but the opportunity came up, so I decided to come here and experience something new.
"I think until you actually play it, you don’t understand how hard the league is and how tactical you need to be.
"The ultimate goal for players is to win as many trophies as possible, and I think that playing in Naples, I have a chance to do that."
Gilmour joined Napoli alongside McTominay who moved to the Stadio Maradona from Manchester United.
“Having Scott in the team is really helpful, I’ve known him from playing in Scotland and against him. It’s helpful to have a friendly face and somebody you can speak to,” Gilmour admitted.
“There are, of course, Lewis Ferguson, Che Adams and Liam Henderson in the league.
"I speak to Lewis quite a bit. I know he’s been here for a good couple of years, and he’s enjoying it, and he can only say positive things about the league.”
Gilmour has reunited with Antonio Conte, who coached Chelsea when the midfielder was playing in the Blues’ youth sector.
“I had Conte when I was younger. I trained only a couple of times with him. But now that I work with him every day, he’s very intense, the standards are always high, and he pushes you to the max,” Gilmour said.
“For us as a team, we know it’s good for us and we try to give our best this season.”
When asked what the turning point was for Napoli in the Scudetto race he said: "Maybe against Atalanta away.
“They were up a goal and we ended up coming back and fighting and I think it shows how good the spirit is in this team.
"We always fight until the end and so far this season, we’re doing really well, and we just keep going game by game and see how it goes.”
Napoli fans now dream of winning their second Serie A title in the last three years.
“The fans are crazy, they give 100% support, and for a player, it only makes you want to go and do the best you can for the team and the fans,” Gilmour concluded.
Story Saved
You can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.