During an interview to Sky Sports Italia, Antonio Conte takes a clever dig at former Chelsea manager.
Conte says Chelsea were struggling hard in every aspect of the game when he arrived in August. The Italian claims Chelsea were an ugly duckling, and he has worked hard to transform them into a Swan. He added that Chelsea had the same players last season and were a complete failure.
Since arriving at Stamford Bridge, Conte has been at his best leading the Blues to a record 13-match winning streak. In addition to that, they are currently the table toppers with 59 points after 24 games. It is very clear that Conte’s ideas have worked out exactly the way he wanted to implement.
Asked by Sky Sports Italia about Chelsea’s transformation, Conte said: “I have blind faith in what I do. We had won the first three games, but I didn’t like the performances. It was a delicate time, but not dramatic.”
“Looking at last season, when Chelsea had practically the same players, you cannot immediately transform from an ugly duckling into a swan. At the end of the day, we found our balance. The blind faith in my ideas helped. I made some strong choices,” said Conte.
Even though Chelsea defeated their rivals Arsenal 3-1 last week, Conte is still refusing to take anything for granted. He insists that the Premier League title race is not over yet and Chelsea need to stay calm.
“There is no one particular team that worries me more,” said Conte. “The experience of being a player really helps. I won the Champions League, but I also lost other finals and that made me more determined to win.”
“You can’t talk about the title yet, as anything could still happen. Just look at us, Chelsea were struggling at the start and turned the whole season around. We’ve got to stay calm.”
“Manchester City beat Swansea with two minutes to go and I would’ve preferred that game end in a draw.”
N’Golo Kante is one of the players who has helped seriously in resurrecting Chelsea this season. Kante brings a lot of quality on the pitch, says his manager.
Conte said: “Kante is an extraordinary player in terms of quantity and quality. He has to improve his build-up play. His first pass is always horizontal and he needs to make that vertical. I was just like him, so I do understand.”
“Kante is a really good lad, always helping his team-mates. He’s been a great buy, though he’s often tired by the time he gets to the goal. He’s still young and can improve.”
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