Chelsea boss Antonio Conte made favourite to leave Premier League post by two bookies after shock team selection and red-card double
Conte denied naming a strange-looking squad was a bold statement to his bosses that he needs signings but did he convince?
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ANTONIO CONTE is the next boss to leave his Premier League post according to two bookies after Chelsea’s Burnley collapse.
The unhappy Italian stuck unknown Jeremie Boga in for a shock start and named a bench full of kids alongside surprise £60m sub Alvaro Morata.
Conspiracy theorists claimed it was a bold move by the reigning champion to highlight his need for new signings, after a summer of grumblings from the Blues boss.
And now Ladbrokes and Sky Bet have the former Juventus man as their leading candidate to walk out or be sacked.
Sky Bet have him at 3-1, just ahead of Stoke leader Mark Hughes and grumpy Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez.
And Ladbrokes reacted to Chelsea's 3-2 defeat by making Conte the 7-2 favourite in their market.
Conte admitted after his side’s shock loss that his side mentally crumbled after Gary Cahill was sent off inside the opening 15 minutes.
He said: “We just lost our heads.
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“We have to improve a lot on this because after the first red for Cahill we lost our composure and conceded three.
“From there, it is very difficult to change the result.
“This situation can happen and we must pay more attention next time.
“Instead, we conceded three goals and the second half was very difficult to change the final result, despite the great commitment, great desire and great will of my players.
“But today I saw two faces of the team — one positive in the second half and one negative in the first half.”
The unhappy boss also refused to answer questions on AWOL striker Diego Costa who is yet to return to the club for the new season and is still partying on holiday in Brazil.
The club is concerned he could end up so out of shape they will struggle to sell him.
But Conte was tight-lipped, he said: “I prefer not to answer questions about Costa — for me it’s in the past.”