Chelsea boss Antonio Conte says, ‘there is a small flame flickering that I hope will eventually grow into a blazing inferno’
Italian manager confident of Blues' title hopes, adding he'll ask 'lovely man' and ex-Chelsea chief Claudio Ranieri for advice
ANTONIO CONTE walked into to the Harris Suite at Stamford Bridge like he was walking onto a yacht.
Chelsea’s new boss looked more fashion designer or film star than football manager as he attended his first club press conference.
Conte was dressed immaculately in a sharp navy suit and tie, along with a crisp light shirt.
But maybe overalls or a tool belt would have been more appropriate attire as he is one of the few Italians to place substance over style.
Conte made it abundantly clear the only way he can make the Blues great again is by virtue of hard work.
It was obviously on his mind. He mentioned “work” in answers to reporters’ questions a couple of dozen times before we stopped counting.
And when he was not using the word “work” and he was using the term “fight”. Or “attitude”.
Conte clearly feels Chelsea stars — who finished tenth last season after winning the Premier League title the year before — have the talent but not the application. Or work ethic.
Asked what message he could send to his players at Chelsea, he replied: “The most important message is that I’m a worker. I like to work.
“I like to work, and I know only this road to win.
“To go back, to compete and to get back to the Champions League, to get back to winning the title, I know only this way — work, work, work.”
Conte, who conducted his first sessions at Chelsea’s Surrey training base on Wednesday, added: “I’m very happy, though. I found the right attitude and right behaviours at training in Cobham. I’m very happy.”
The new Prime Minister Theresa May will be pleased. She has only been in the job a couple of days and already a group of 20 or so mainly foreign layabouts in west London — who did hardly anything between August and December last year — are already getting back to work.
You get the feeling Conte will not let their noses leave the grindstone.
And, credit to him, as he never took the easy route and showed he is working on his language skills by answering questions from journalists in English yesterday.
It was a huge risk as one slip could have tainted his reputation or earned him a nickname that would have stuck with him for ever.
It did not look good when he started by saying: “It is a great pleasure for me to STAY here.”
But you can surely forgive him that faux pas because Britain loves a trier.
Whether he will get to “stay” at Chelsea is another matter. Not many of his predecessors have. The former Italy manager has been appointed on a three-year deal, said to be worth £20million.
He is now charged with turning the Blues back into title-challengers after their dreadful defence of the Prem title last season.
But Conte — a passionate and engaging chap, who could become as popular and successful here as Jose Mourinho — seems up to the challenge.
He said: “I hope the Premier League title winners deserve to have taken the title home come the end of the season.
“We are under-rated a bit, and might slip under the radar, but I hope there’s a small flame flickering here that can hopefully grow into a blazing inferno.”
The good news for Chelsea is he insists turning them around will not be as difficult as it was at Juventus.
When Conte, 46, joined in 2011 the Old Lady was without a trophy since the 2006 match-fixing scandal saw them stripped of back-to-back titles.
But he led them to three straight Serie A crowns before leaving to manage Italy in 2014.
Conte said: “When I arrived at Juventus, they were many years without winning.
RELATED STORIES
“This situation seems easier, no?
“I hope it is. But it’s important for me that I don’t change my idea, my philosophy, my methods.”
Conte has also vowed he will not lose the touchline passion that made him such a joy to watch at Euro 2016 — and which is certain to land him in hot water over here at some point.
Much has been made of the formation Chelsea will play under him after his penchant for three at the back while charge of Italy.
The mention of it again brought a smile to his face.
He said: “When I was in Italy I liked to say the manager is like a tailor. A tailor who must build a dress, the best dress for the team.
“So you have to respect the characteristics and the talent of the players, then you decide. In the past, I started my season with the other teams with one idea of football, and then I changed because I saw the system for these players wasn’t good.
“But three at the back, four at the back — it’s not important. What’s important for us is the right spirit for the team.
“That’s important if we want to compete again for the title. To give good organisation, and good training on tactical and physical aspects.
“I think I can improve a lot, my players. There must be a great empathy and I’m sure we can improve a lot through the work.”
Aaah. The ‘W’ word again.
Then, after an hour at Stamford Bridge he was back off to Cobham to take the second part of another double training session.