After clinching Serie A promotion yesterday, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis declared they were "back from hell!".

"This was not at all an expected success," assured De Laurentiis, whose side escaped the play-offs because there is a 10-point gap between third and fourth.

"I always told the lads to stay calm. We are still young and only constructed this side 30 months ago. We've come a long way to get here - straight from Hell back to Paradise."

Napoli were shunted down to Serie C after the bankruptcy of the previous administration in the summer of 2004, but film mogul De Laurentiis built a completely new side.

"I must thank Coach Edy Reja and director general Pierpaolo Marino, who were central to this project. We are only at the beginning and from now on I will battle for a different type of football."

Napoli had been absent from Serie A for six years, but now aim to construct a competitive line-up so they can stay among calcio's elite.

"Napoli's era began three years ago with the arrival of De Laurentiis," added director general Marino.

"This is just a stepping stone, but a very important and difficult one for a side that had to fight Juventus for promotion."