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Antonio Conte admits Spurs are ahead of Chelsea: 'I need four years to build a foundation'
It will not need explaining to any Chelsea fan what Antonio Conte meant when he said: “Sometimes you can win, but you are preparing yourself for disruption.”
Chelsea know all too well about the disruption that can follow success and there have been worrying signs that yet another meltdown may be waiting around the corner.
A summer that has seen more departures than signings, Diego Costa go on strike and a losing start against Burnley have made comparisons with the doomed Premier League title defence of 2015/16 all too easy.
Conte admitted himself that this is not the ideal time for his depleted squad to travel to Wembley to face Tottenham Hotspur, but Chelsea’s head coach attempted to allay fears that all his good work of last season is set to go to waste.
He laughed his way through questions about Costa’s allegations against him and Chelsea, and recognised that it was important for him to put on a brave and positive face.
Conte has also added a new word to his English vocabulary. The Italian still likes to talk about “work” at every opportunity, but “patience” is gradually creeping into his sentences.
The need for patience was very much a theme ahead of the Spurs clash and Conte even went as far to claim that he will need four years to build the foundations he wants to work from.
“I can tell you one thing is very important for me,” said Conte. “Sometimes you can win, but you are preparing yourself for disruption. Sometimes you don’t win, but you are preparing yourself to be better.
“Spurs started to work with Pochettino for three years, this is the fourth year and Pocehttino has had the possibility to work for three years with the same players and have the possibility every season to improve his foundations.
“Last season we did a fantastic season because there wasn’t this foundation or basis. We started to build this foundation and we won, so it means we built something. But now it’s not enough, so we have to improve, to extend this basis, work together with new players.”
Chelsea still hope to make at least three new signings this month and on Friday held further talks with Leicester City over their bid to sign Danny Drinkwater.
But Conte is not only thinking about what his squad will look like at the end of August. Asked if, like Pochettino, he will need four years at Chelsea to shape the squad he wants, the 48-year-old added: “Yeah, maybe. To arrive and try to fight for the Champions League, to try to fight to be the best in the world, you need time.
“Last season we won the League and reached the final of the FA Cup with only 13 regular players. We were lucky to not have injuries. There wasn’t this basis. We are ready to fight to face this difficult situation and we must work, work, work to have a good present and future.”
One of the oddities of the summer was the fact Conte signed a new contract with no extension, which means he is only committed to Stamford Bridge for this season and next.
“I still have two years (on my contract),” said Conte. “This season and next season to work with this club. Then if we stay very well and we have the same vision, we continue. I don’t see any problems about the future. I think that I stay in the right club at this point of my career.
“We have started this path and we want to continue together to improve and to bring this club to have a solid foundation to stay a long time at the top and to try to fight to win the Champions League and the League. A club like Chelsea must have this ambition. But I repeat we need time. We must have patience to work.
“No-one put a gun to my head and said ‘You win or you go away’. The only thing I can promise is work, work, work and that I will try to do my best to improve the club. Sometimes you can win, but you are not building something positive for your future.”
Conte suggested he is preparing to take a gamble on the fitness of Tiemoue Bakayoko by handing a debut to the midfielder against Tottenham, while Eden Hazard has stepped his recovery from ankle surgery and has an outside chance of being involved.
But he insisted this was not a time to feel sorry for himself and said: “I think that I must have a good mood. I have to transfer positivity and not negativity. That’s the most important thing for the coach and I must be calm and face the situation in the right way.
“My career has not been easy, this is my story and sometimes I have had to deal with this type of situation. Never was the situation easy for me, but I am ready to work. This word, this verb, I use it a lot and through that we won the title.”