Antonio Conte believes Tottenham are currently ahead of Chelsea

Antonio Conte believes Tottenham are currently ahead of Chelsea

Chelsea are set for a stern test tomorrow at Wembley as the Blues look to bounce-back from a woeful start to the Premier League campaign with a crucial clash with Tottenham Hotspur, the side that finished runners-up to Antonio Conte’s side last season.

A shock 3-2 defeat to relegation favourites Burnley on the opening weekend of the Premier League season has raised the pressure on Conte’s side, with the Italian boss very public with his quest to add further names to his ranks.

Chelsea have landed Willy Caballero, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Alvaro Morata and Antonio Rudiger this summer but the side lack significant depth following a wealth of departures, including the controversial sale of Nemanja Matic to Manchester United.

The Blues need to bounce back tomorrow against Spurs but Conte has admitted his opponents are currently ahead of his side at the start of this campaign, stating he needs four years to make a foundation.

Quoted by The Telegraphthe Chelsea boss said:

“I can tell you one thing is very important for me. Sometimes you can win, but you are preparing yourself for disruption. Sometimes you don’t win, but you are preparing yourself to be better.”

“Spurs started to work with Pochettino for three years, this is the fourth year and Pocehttino has had the possibility to work for three years with the same players and have the possibility every season to improve his foundations.”

“Last season we did a fantastic season because there wasn’t this foundation or basis. We started to build this foundation and we won, so it means we built something. But now it’s not enough, so we have to improve, to extend this basis, work together with new players.”

Asked whether he would need four-years at Chelsea, the Italian boss said:

“Yeah, maybe. To arrive and try to fight for the Champions League, to try to fight to be the best in the world, you need time. Last season we won the League and reached the final of the FA Cup with only 13 regular players. We were lucky to not have injuries. There wasn’t this basis. We are ready to fight to face this difficult situation and we must work, work, work to have a good present and future.”

His new deal signed in the summer did not extend his stint with the Blues, meaning he’s currently only tied to Stamford Bridge for the current season and the next.