Conte sure Chelsea more talented than his first Juventus squad

Posted Saturday, October 01, 2016 by Goal.com

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Antonio Conte thinks that the Chelsea squad he has inherited from Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink is better than the one he had when he arrived at Juventus.

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The 47-year-old took over in Turin a summer after they finished a disappointing seventh but managed to lead them to the Serie A title unbeaten in his first season.

And, despite Chelsea’s recent run of three Premier League games winless, Conte believes that his Chelsea squad are more gifted than his first Bianconeri cohort.

However, he added that there is still plenty of work needed from a mental standpoint as he works to find solutions to their early blip this season.

"I arrived [five] years ago [in my first season at Juventus],” he told a press conference at the club's Cobham Training Centre.

"I think that the value of the players is not the same, or the talent, as there is now in our team at Chelsea. I am sure there is more [talent] than I had at Juventus in my first season, but we must understand that with only the talent you don’t win.

"We must add running, intensity, sacrifice, the want to win the ball when you lose the ball, all of this.”

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"All of this and we are working very hard to improve this aspect because it is important to understand very quickly and find the right way. I am confident about this because the group have great commitment and they work hard.

"I am very confident about this.”

Defensive issues have plagued Chelsea in their last four games and Conte admitted that he is considering a switch to three at the back as an option to solve his side’s current issues.

"I have an idea of football, but I have ideas and principles of the game that when you play four at the back or three at the back they don’t change," he added.

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"I am ready for the opportunity to change something because when you start a season, you start a path. You must understand if you idea is good and then, if not, change to play three.

"It is important to work and It is important to work and understand, step-by-step, game by game to understand what best suits.

"I started my career to play with 4-2-4 and to play with full backs. I won two championships and got promotion with Siena and Bari.

"This type of system and I started to play this type of system with Juventus and then I changed it because it is important for a coach to understand the options in your squad and find the best solution for the team.”