Conte warns Chelsea players not to let levels drop - Capital Sports
Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

English Premiership

Conte warns Chelsea players not to let levels drop

Antonio Conte’s Chelsea are nine points clear at the top of the Premier League © IKIMAGES/AFP/File / IKIMAGES

LONDON, United Kingdom, Feb 3 – Chelsea manager Antonio Conte warned his players not to succumb to complacency ahead of the Premier League leaders’ home game against Arsenal on Saturday.

Chelsea are nine points clear of second-place Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, who trail their north London rivals on goal difference, and odds-on favourites for the title.

But Conte, who won eight Serie A titles with Juventus — five as a player and three as a coach — says there is still a long way to go.

“Anything can happen. It’s important to keep the antenna very high,” he told his pre-match press conference at Chelsea’s training base in Cobham, southwest of London, on Friday.

“If someone thinks that the league is finished, I’m not so sure. I want to have this tension, this right tension. In the past I fight to win the title and I know we must pay great attention.

“There are 15 games to play and there are a lot of great teams behind us.”

Chelsea lost 3-0 at Arsenal in late September, a game that saw Conte switch to a 3-4-3 formation, which prompted a run of 13 successive wins.

They have dropped points only twice in 17 league games since the defeat at the Emirates Stadium, losing 2-0 at Tottenham Hotspur last month and drawing 1-1 at Liverpool on Tuesday.

But Conte says he has kept the loss at Arsenal in his thoughts as a reminder both of how far his team have come and how important it is they maintain their current standards.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

“This defeat seems far (away), but it’s important to remember the defeat against Arsenal,” he said.

“It was a bad defeat, 3-0 after the first half. And in my mind it’s present, it’s always present, this defeat.

“I hope also in the mind of my players. I think it’s important to remember the first game against Arsenal. A lot of things changed now. For sure we are a team. We want to have a good game tomorrow.”

Conte was once again obliged to field questions about the future of striker Diego Costa after reports in Spain suggested he will leave for China at the end of the season.

The Chelsea manager expressed confidence that Costa was in a positive frame of mind, but, perhaps tellingly, refused to look beyond the end of the campaign.

“Every week I hear a lot of news, a lot of speculation about Diego,” Conte said.

“I think now the most important thing is to be focused on this championship. We are in a good position. Diego is an important player for us, is very happy to stay for us.

“The summer is far. It’s important to think in the present.”

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
Advertisement

More on Capital Sports

Football

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 27 – DStv and GOtv subscribers are in for a treat of the world’s best football this week as the 2020-21...

Football

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 25 – There is light at the end of the tunnel. After failed promises over the last three years since its...

Football

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 6 – Gentrix Shikangwa scored with two minutes left as Vihiga Queens sailed to the final of the CECAFA regional qualifiers...

NFL

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 13 – Kenya’s history making Daniel Adongo, the first Kenyan to play in America’s National Football League (NFL), is now living...

© 2024 Capital Digital Media. Capital Group Limited. All Rights Reserved