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Jonathan Sutherland

BBC Sport Scotland presenter in Naples

It’s mid-afternoon at the Napoli Training Centre at Castel Volturno, a small town 45 minutes up the coast from the city of Naples.

Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay are tired. You can see it in their faces. And little wonder. Another gruelling double training session has just been complete under an unseasonably warm Naples winter sun.

Coach Antonio Conte is a tough taskmaster, but the hard work is paying off.

After swapping the Premier League for Serie A at the end of August, Gilmour and McTominay have more than played their part in their new club’s burgeoning title challenge, with Napoli second in the division, two points behind Atalanta.

The Scotland duo are getting weekly Italian lessons, with the aim to be semi-fluent by the end of the season. But how are they finding life under Conte?

“The manager has been great. He is very, very demanding,” says McTominay.

“He has a clear structure and ideas in his head of how he wants his team to play. But he’s also not as ruthless as people think.

“There’s a good side to him. You can have a conversation with him. When it comes to training and working, it’s business. We’re there to work and to win and we all share that same ambition.”

Gilmour was in the Chelsea youth ranks when Conte was coach at Stamford Bridge. He doubts if the Italian remembers him from that time, but they certainly know about each other now.

“He’s a serious manager,” says Gilmour. “But I think he is pretty straightforward. It’s easy to understand. You go and put it onto the pitch and if there is a problem he is going to tell you.”

Life for Napoli is better generally under Conte. A season after the club won the Scudetto in 2023, they finished in 10th place.

This year, they have a title-chasing squad. Competition for places is fierce.

Gilmour has made a solid start, with 12 appearances. But McTominay’s impact after his arrival from Manchester United has been nothing short of explosive.

Four goals in 14 appearances, the latest in a 1-0 away victory at Torino.

The dynamism shown by the 27-year-old has made him a fans’ favourite, and the Italian pundits cannot believe United allowed him to leave.

His name regularly features on the backs of the knock-off replica Napoli shirts sold in the backstreets of this city.

There is inevitably title talk, but McTominay pays little attention. “It’s not important at this moment,” he says. “We will see where we are come the end of the season.”

His opening goal against potential title rivals Inter Milan in the 1-1 draw at San Siro in November underlined his star status. But McTominay is clearly not the type to get caught up in the hype.

He is the hottest property in Naples right now, but he also knows his place. Even a Serie A triumph would only render him a mere demi-god in comparison to the late, great Diego Maradona.

The Argentine’s name hangs heavy in the air in Naples. They renamed the stadium in his honour. His image is everywhere.

This is a fan base that craves the respect that came with the Serie A triumphs Maradona almost single-handedly delivered in the mid-to-late 1980s.

His hold on this city is not lost on the two Scots. “We know how much he is appreciated here and how much the people love him,” says Gilmour.

“Nobody can get near Maradona in terms of his legacy and how much of an icon he is in the game,” adds McTominay. “For us it’s all about respect.”

Gilmour and McTominay have taken their moves in their stride. The team has made a great start to the season, and both are content they have made the right choice.

“You want to push yourself, you want to see how far you can go,” says Gilmour.

The move represents another major career step for the 23-year-old. After leaving Rangers for Chelsea as a youngster, and winning a Champions League medal, there followed a loan move to Norwich City which was far from plain-sailing.

Better times followed at Brighton before the switch to Serie A.

“Brighton were great with me when I was there kind of rebuilding myself,” he adds. “I got my confidence back. When I was leaving, it’s never easy. But you know you’re doing the right thing, you have to look after yourself in football.”

For his part, McTominay admits it was difficult to leave boyhood United but says he had to “look out for number one”.

“It was a big decision, but in some ways it was quite straightforward,” he said. “I saw the passionate fans, I saw the coach, I saw the players and I saw an opportunity.

“It didn’t take me long to make the decision because I knew that was what I wanted and I’ll never have any regrets in my life. I didn’t look back.

“I love this place. I love the fans, I love my team-mates. It has been a pleasure to be with Billy every day rather than just seeing him at Scotland and we have helped each other a lot.”

A big 2025 looms for both Gilmour and McTominay. Full of promise, full of hope, full of work. Eat, sleep, train, repeat. The hard miles in the search for glory continue under the ever-watchful gaze of Mr Conte.

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