Chelsea's Antonio Conte keen to 'avoid' Jose Mourinho and Claudio Ranieri fate

Concerns | Antonio Conte wants Chelsea to avoid their disastrous 2015/16 campaign
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Simon Johnson29 July 2017

Antonio Conte has suggested his main priority at the moment is to avoid becoming the third manager in a row to win the League and be sacked in the following campaign.

A clearly tense Conte was speaking after Chelsea ended their pre-season tour with a 2-1 loss to Inter Milan in Singapore.

It was their second consecutive defeat in the Far East, where he has complained about the size of his squad throughout.

Jose Mourinho was fired in December 2015 - just seven months after finishing top with Chelsea. Significantly the first signs of discontent came in pre-season.

Claudio Ranieri followed suit in February this year having guided Leicester to a remarkable championship the season before.

Conte appears to have the possibility of a hat-trick on his mind as he said: "Two coaches were sacked from Chelsea and Leicester after winning the League. I want to avoid this.

"We know the next season and we want to avoid the previous (2015-16) season for Chelsea.

"One year ago, the team ended their League in 10th place and we want to try to avoid this. I want to try to avoid two seasons ago.

"The players want to avoid the bad season with Mourinho. We’re working very well and hope to find the best solution in the future."

Conte, who signed a new two-year deal this month but not an extension, has moaned a few times on the trip that he doesn't have enough personnel to compete on four fronts.

Chelsea have signed Willy Caballero, Antonio Rudiger, Alvaro Morata and Tiemoue Bakayoko so far. But a number of players have left permanently including John Terry, Nathaniel Chalobah, Nathan Ake, Bertrand Traore.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Inter Milan | 28-07-2017

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Nemanja Matic and Diego Costa are set to be sold, while potential squad members Tammy Abraham, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ola Aina have left on loan.

The squad is further depleted for the start of the campaign due to Eden Hazard and Bakayoko working on their fitness following ankle and knee problems.

The Blues still hope to buy four more players before the window shuts, but Conte is clearly frustrated about the lack of progress.

He brought on eight Academy players as substitutes in the second half of Chelsea's defeat to Inter and Conte hinted that he will have to turn to youth to fill the void.

"We have a lot of young players," he said. "If necessary we have to try to put in these players.”

When asked why he paired new record buy Alvaro Morata with Michy Batshuayi in a 3-4-3, he pointedly added: “This is a necessity because I haven’t other players.”

Chelsea were outplayed by Bayern Munich on Tuesday when they lost 3-2. That reverse prompted him to say yesterday that Chelsea will struggle to challenge in the Champions League.

Despite beating Arsenal 3-0 a week ago, Conte believes the games against Bayern and Inter have provided a reality check for the champions.

He said: "We have played three games with the same players and they are very tired.

"We played against two strong teams in a period that for us is a very important period because we’re working very hard."