Antonio Conte was thrilled Napoli "put a bit of pressure on the teams above them" in Serie A after a narrow 1-0 win over Cagliari.
Scott McTominay netted the winner in the second minute, turning in a goalmouth scramble from point-blank range after he had already hit the post from the rebound of Alessandro Buongiorno's saved effort.
Napoli were given a stern test by Cagliari, despite their hosts failing to get any of the seven attempts on target at Unipol Domus, but they held on for three points that sent them second in Serie A.
They are now two points above AC Milan, while they are six points behind leaders Inter, though both teams are yet to play this weekend.
"We've held our own over the last seven months, now we have to qualify for the Champions League, but we know that other teams want that too," Conte told DAZN, as reported by Football Italia.
"Nobody should stop us from looking ahead. We've put a bit of pressure on the teams at the top.
"Three points further into the Champions League spots, we've been extraordinary over the last seven months to stay in the top positions.
"We're looking at those in front of us, but we're not making any empty promises. It doesn't take much to get dragged back by those behind us."
Napoli have won two consecutive away matches for the third time this season, while it is the first time they have won four on the bounce since May-September 2025 (a run of five).
But more importantly, the Partenopei kept a clean sheet in Serie A for the first time since January 17 (1-0 v Sassuolo), ending a streak of eight consecutive matches in which they had conceded at least once.
While Conte was thrilled with the shutout, he acknowledged there were still improvements to be made.
"We made too many mistakes. We could have done better and commanded the game more, given that Cagliari didn't come to press," Conte said.
"We looked for the second goal in the second half. Anything can happen in these sorts of games. Now we go into the [international] break with three points, waiting on the others.
"It's important to record a clean sheet after 11 games. Cagliari didn't have a shot on goal. Being able to defend well requires everyone.
"There was great application and desire. The guys understood the importance of the match, even if we struggled to materialise that."