Antonio Conte: Chelsea boss on tactics, the title race and Champions League problem

In an extensive interview with GQ, Conte has conceded the challenge of winning the Premier League title is like nothing else in football.

And, because the league is so competitive, English clubs are at a disadvantage to their European rivals when competing in the Champions League.

“Winning in England, winning in this league is so hard and only one team can win, so it is important that we put all of ourselves into doing the best job we can do,” Conte said.

“Look at the size of the wins you see in Spain, big wins, six, seven goals. You do not see that so much in England. There is no easy game, not one.

“That means it is easier for the teams in Spain and Italy to manage their rotation between the leagues and the Champions League. There are games where you can relax a little.

“Here, you cannot do that, impossible. Easy games just do not exist.

“It is so important the players understand this. If they don't, you end up losing points you should not be losing.”

Conte burst onto the English football scene last year after leaving is post as Italy manager.

The former Juventus boss was given the job of rebuilding a Chelsea squad whose spirit was decimated by Jose Mourinho and the fall-out of the Eva Carneiro saga.

Conte restored Chelsea to the top of English football, winning the Premier League in his first campaign at Stamford Bridge.

He has gained a reputation as a hard taskmaster but also a great tactician.

Discussing his management style, Conte told GQ: “It is not easy to explain this concept, but to me it is about study.

“I like to study everything: the way to be dangerous when you are attacking; what the players should do when you don't have the ball, where they should be.

“The tactics you tell the players to follow come from all this study. The situations change a lot during a game: you change to defend; you change when you are trying to win the ball back quickly. It is not always the same.

“You have a plan and you try to prepare the team and before the players start to play in the game they know the situation that I want to happen and they understand if we need to change.”

Reports that Conte is keen on a return to Italy continue to bubble under the surface, even though Chelsea handed the boss an improved contract in the summer.

Conte says he was misquoted in an Italian radio interview recently, where he supposedly claimed he will one-day want to return to Serie A.

The 48-year-old played for Juventus for much of his career as a midfielder, before managing the club to title success between 2012 and 2014.

But he admits he enjoys the increased competition offered in English football.

“Here it is always like a festival and the home and away fans are usually right next to each other,” he added.

“In Italy it is very difficult to find supporters together; there are a lot more police.

“When we beat Middlesbrough (last season), we were close to winning the league and Middlesbrough were relegated in that game. But I saw the Middlesbrough fans applauding their players over in their part of the ground and for me that was great.

“In our last game against Sunderland they had already been relegated weeks earlier, but the fans were there and being amazing.

Asked if this is the toughest league he has competed in, Conte added: “This is the toughest, the most intense, the most difficult, no doubt.

“In Spain, you have two teams who might win, Real Madrid and Barcelona, every now and then Atletico Madrid. In Italy, there is only Juventus.

“In Germany, there is Bayern Munich. OK, Borussia Dortmund won it with Klopp, but it is [mostly] Bayern.

“In France, there is Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco for a season.

“But here, there are at least six clubs who think they can win the title. Manchester City and United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham…

“And Chelsea.”