Football
ESPN staff 8y

Antonio Conte wants Chelsea 'flame' to become 'blazing inferno'

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte accepts it will be "very, very difficult" to win the Premier League but hopes he can upset the odds, saying there is a "small flame flickering that can grow into a blazing inferno."

Conte, who was confirmed as Chelsea's new manager in April, has now taken charge of the side after leading Italy at Euro 2016.

The former Juventus boss chose to conduct the opening part of his first Chelsea news conference in English and said his command of the language would soon improve as he continues his lessons.

He accepts that the bigger challenge will come on the field, where he is expected to revive Chelsea side that finished 10th last season, but said he is relishing the opportunity to test himself in a new country.

"I'm very happy," he told reporters. "I'm excited for this moment to start a new season with Chelsea.

"This is a new chapter for my life, for my career, for me and for my family. And I'm very happy to start to work in a new country, a fantastic country and a fantastic league.

"I think that this league is very, very difficult -- the most difficult league in the world because there are six or seven teams who can win the title."

He said Chelsea are "a great team" and added in the Italian section of his news conference: "I hope we can surprise people, that there is a small flame flickering that can grow into a blazing inferno."

He highlighted the fact that Juventus, who were in a transitional phase after the Calciopoli scandal, had only finished seventh in Serie A when he took charge in the summer of 2011 and he was able to establish the club as Italy's dominant force.

"I don't know if this is the most difficult challenge of my career," he said. "Juventus came with two seventh places. We won the title first year, second, third."

He said he had also been under "great pressure from the media and whole country" under taking charge of Italy, who reached the Euro 2016 quarterfinals, in 2014.

He added: "The pressure to me is not important because I was born with pressure. It's normal, no? Because when you are a player or a manager of a big club like Chelsea you must play to win or to fight for the title."

He said "this year won't be easy" after last season's disappointments but that the fact the Premier League is so difficult "excites" him.

"I think we must think to the present, work very hard," he said. "The fans need to find a team ready to fight until the end to compete with the other teams. I know there is only one team that can win the title, but we must stay there at the end of the season.

"Chelsea belongs in the Champions League and we must stay there."

He was also eager to emphasise the importance of physical fitness and determination and said he was happy with what he saw in training at Cobham this week.

"In these two days I saw the players with the right attitude, with the right behaviour, with a great will to fight for this shirt, to fight to go back very soon to compete for the best position, to compete to win the title," Conte added.

"The best important message is that I'm a worker. I like to work. I know only this road, to win. I know only this: work, work and work. I'm very happy because I found a right attitude in Cobham."

He added: "If you run more than the others, you have more probability to win."

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