Chelsea Empire rests on hollow foundation, concedes Conte
Blues boss says champions need to build a system a la Sunday's opponents Spurs
SPINELESS CHAMPIONS? Although Conte won the Premier League in his first season with Chelsea, the Blues boss claims the champions still lack the solid foundations required to compete for top prizes every year. PHOTO: AFP
LONDON:
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte admits it could be years before his troubled team are capable of dominating at home and abroad.
Although Conte won the Premier League in his first season with Chelsea, the Blues boss claims the champions still lack the solid foundations required to compete for top prizes every year.
Under fire after Chelsea's turbulent start to the season, Conte sent a pointed message to demanding Blues owner Roman Abramovich as he highlighted the way Mauricio Pochettino was given time to gradually turn Tottenham into title contenders over several seasons.
Conte, whose side face Tottenham at Wembley on Sunday, is convinced he needs a similar period of time before Chelsea are capable of dominating in both the Premier League and Champions League.
"Tottenham started to work with Pochettino three years ago. He has had the possibility to work with the same players and to try to improve this situation," said Conte. "For every coach it is important to have that continuity. When you arrive at a club you don't know what you will find. When you understand your basis you have to go year by year to improve. Then you can make this basis more solid, to build a good structure, to fight for the title."
Conte isn't fooled by Chelsea's success last season because he believes they rode their luck with virtually no injuries to key players.
"Last season we started to build this foundation and we won the title, but we were fortunate with injuries," he said. "Now it is not enough. To be the best in the world, you need time. There are many situations you can't control. We have to improve. Maybe we need four years to try to fight for the Champions League. In football it's not good to try to make the illusion. The only truth I can tell our fans is we are working very hard to try to have a good season."
Spurs urged to forget Wembley woes
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino says his side will only have themselves to blame if they cannot make themselves feel at home at Wembley this season.
Spurs flopped at Wembley last term after moving their Champions League home games there and will play all of their home matches at the stadium this season while White Hart Lane is rebuilt.
Their poor record at the national stadium has led to talk of a Wembley jinx, but ahead of Sunday's encounter with Premier League champions Chelsea, Pochettino gave it short shrift.
"Wembley is not a problem. We are the problem if we don't win like last season," said the Argentinian, whose side finished second behind Chelsea last season. "If we are not able to win there, it is not because of Wembley, it is because of us. It is the most exciting place to play football. OK, it was difficult to move from White Hart Lane to Wembley [last season] and it was a perfect excuse for everyone. Now it's not an excuse."
Since Wembley reopened in 2007 after reconstruction, Tottenham's record there has been dreadful, with just two wins to show from their 10 visits.
They lost twice there in last season's Champions League group phase, to Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen, and have been beaten in three FA Cup semi-finals, including last season's 4-2 defeat by Chelsea.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte admits it could be years before his troubled team are capable of dominating at home and abroad.
Although Conte won the Premier League in his first season with Chelsea, the Blues boss claims the champions still lack the solid foundations required to compete for top prizes every year.
Under fire after Chelsea's turbulent start to the season, Conte sent a pointed message to demanding Blues owner Roman Abramovich as he highlighted the way Mauricio Pochettino was given time to gradually turn Tottenham into title contenders over several seasons.
Conte, whose side face Tottenham at Wembley on Sunday, is convinced he needs a similar period of time before Chelsea are capable of dominating in both the Premier League and Champions League.
"Tottenham started to work with Pochettino three years ago. He has had the possibility to work with the same players and to try to improve this situation," said Conte. "For every coach it is important to have that continuity. When you arrive at a club you don't know what you will find. When you understand your basis you have to go year by year to improve. Then you can make this basis more solid, to build a good structure, to fight for the title."
Conte isn't fooled by Chelsea's success last season because he believes they rode their luck with virtually no injuries to key players.
"Last season we started to build this foundation and we won the title, but we were fortunate with injuries," he said. "Now it is not enough. To be the best in the world, you need time. There are many situations you can't control. We have to improve. Maybe we need four years to try to fight for the Champions League. In football it's not good to try to make the illusion. The only truth I can tell our fans is we are working very hard to try to have a good season."
Spurs urged to forget Wembley woes
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino says his side will only have themselves to blame if they cannot make themselves feel at home at Wembley this season.
Spurs flopped at Wembley last term after moving their Champions League home games there and will play all of their home matches at the stadium this season while White Hart Lane is rebuilt.
Their poor record at the national stadium has led to talk of a Wembley jinx, but ahead of Sunday's encounter with Premier League champions Chelsea, Pochettino gave it short shrift.
"Wembley is not a problem. We are the problem if we don't win like last season," said the Argentinian, whose side finished second behind Chelsea last season. "If we are not able to win there, it is not because of Wembley, it is because of us. It is the most exciting place to play football. OK, it was difficult to move from White Hart Lane to Wembley [last season] and it was a perfect excuse for everyone. Now it's not an excuse."
Since Wembley reopened in 2007 after reconstruction, Tottenham's record there has been dreadful, with just two wins to show from their 10 visits.
They lost twice there in last season's Champions League group phase, to Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen, and have been beaten in three FA Cup semi-finals, including last season's 4-2 defeat by Chelsea.