Friday 15 July 2016 06:14, UK
Antonio Conte has given his first press conference since being appointed as Chelsea head coach.
The former Italy boss has plenty to think about as he seeks to turn things around at Stamford Bridge following their 10th-place finish in 2015/16.
Here, we pick out five issues to emerge from his opening address…
Conte is ready for the fight
Fight. That's the word Conte repeated again and again. After a brief issue understanding the first question, his dedication to hard work was underlined by his efforts to learn a new language. Twelve days after Italy's Euro 2016 exit, here he was embracing the next challenge. He'll expect similar diligence from his players.
"We must think to the present to work very hard every day, every week, every month to be something important for the fans," said Conte. "It's important to have players who are ready to fight." But does he have them? "In these two days, I saw players with the right attitude, with the right behaviour, with a great will to fight for this shirt," he added.
Conte's reputation as a tough guy will have been affirmed in the eyes of supporters by this focus on work and fight. The question still remains whether he has a squad of players dedicated to that cause. After all, the abrasive approach of Jose Mourinho was rejected in favour of Guus Hiddink's more laidback style. But Conte appears determined to find out.
Terry is still the main man
John Terry will have a role to play in reinforcing that message and while there was some uncertainty over his Chelsea future in the spring, the 35-year-old defender finds himself to the fore once more. And while Terry is regarded as far more than a mere player at Stamford Bridge, Conte appears keen to rely on him on the pitch as well as off it.
"John Terry signed a contract as a player, not a different role," said the new head coach. "He is the captain of this team. He is a great player, with a great personality, charisma. I like to speak to him, because I know he knows the club, the right spirit to play in this club. For me he is a very important player."
It's not all about the 3-5-2
The good news for Terry is that he might not have a new position to learn after all. Some had suggested that Conte was wedded to the back three that had served him so well with Juventus and Italy. However, the Italian had an analogy for his audience that would indicate he's rather more open-minded about Chelsea's best formation than that.
"When I was in Italy I liked to say the coach is like a tailor, who must make the best dress for the team," said the 46-year-old. "Three at the back, four at the back. It's not important. What's important is the right spirit of the team and good organisation." That could be good news for Eden Hazard if he wants to continue on the wing too.
Chelsea are in the title race
Whatever formation Conte goes with, he knows that expectations at Chelsea remain high. He wasn't in the mood to downplay that too much either, speaking of winning the title back "very soon". He added: "I think this is the most difficult league in the world because there are six or seven teams who could win the title." But crucially, Chelsea are among them.
As well as returning to the Champions League, Conte cited the aim for the season as being "to win the title, to fight at the end to compete with the other teams to win the title, to reach your targets". He later added: "There is only one team that will win the title but we must stay there, to fight for the title." There's that word again.
But improvement is the aim
Conte knows that Chelsea have lots of work to do. For all the quality in the squad, in one sense it would require a greater turnaround than the miracle that Leicester pulled off last season for Chelsea to win the title - at least the Foxes had shown signs of champion form in the latter stages of the previous campaign.
"We know that this year won't be easy for us because if we think last season, the 10th position, last season was a bad season," said Conte. But he also offered a reminder that Juventus had finished seventh in each of the two seasons prior to his arrival. He then delivered three Serie A titles in a row.
For Conte, the key to repeating that won't be the formation, Terry's role or whether he's given a Special One style moniker. It's about work and the work starts now. "I hope we can surprise people, that there is a small flame flickering that can grow into a blazing inferno," he said. And yet, if Chelsea are successful under Conte, it would be no surprise at all.
