Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has admitted to being “a disaster” when it comes to persuading his club to signing players.
The Italian was regularly open in his criticism of Chelsea’s transfer policy during the recent January window despite the Premier League champions signing Ross Barkley from Everton and Olivier Giroud from Arsenal. The Blues lost back to back Premier League games against Bournemouth and Watford, which put Conte under immense pressure.
Conte’s men are now 4th in the Premier League table and are 19 points behind leaders Manchester City after the win over West Brom last night.
Asked if he thought Chelsea’s current squad could be improved, Conte was quoted by talkSPORT:
“I think I’m a bit of a disaster [trying] to convince the club to buy the players. In this aspect I can improve a lot,” he said, ahead of Monday’s clash with West Brom.
“I have to learn a lot from the other coaches, the other managers. I have to speak more with the managers who are very, very good to persuade their clubs to spend money and buy top players.
“The transfer window is a topic that we have closed. Now the most important thing is to be focused and go straight to try to work, to try to give the best this season – for me and the players.
“My task is to try to improve every single player, in every aspect. About mentality also. About the desire, the will to fight, and the tactical aspects. Yes. My task is this. For this, I’m very good. Usually, in my experience, I think I reached the best results possible with the players that I have to work with.”
Chelsea are facing a fight to qualify for next season’s Champions League after a string of inconsistent results. It is a rough patch for Conte and the team, who immediately need to bounce back and stitch together a winning run.
The win over West Brom should have changed the mood a bit but with the Champions League game against Barcelona next week, it is the high time our players wake up and start delivering as a unit.