Conte: I need four years to build strong foundation for Chelsea

Chelsea's last season's English Premier League winning manager, Antonio Conte is currently having a summer to forget with keys players down injured or suspended, new players not coming in, key midfielder Nemanja Matic sold to Manchester United, Chelsea lost to lowly Burnley at Stamford Bridge last week in the season's opening match. Put all that together and the Italian is already feeling the blues.

But Conte remains adamant that it's not about this season, it's about putting up a strong foundation like Tottenham whom his Chelsea will face on Sunday: “For sure, last season we started to build this foundation and we won the title 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.

"I think Tottenham is doing this very well. I think that Spurs started to work with Pochettino for three years and now he is into his fourth season. Pochettino has had the possibility to work with the same players and have the possibility every season to improve his foundations.

"For every coach it’s important to give continuity to the club because when you arrive you don’t know what you’ll find. And when you understand your basis, you have to try to work step-by-step, year-by-year to improve this basis, to make this basis more solid and to build a good structure. To fight to win the title, to try to win. Last season we did a fantastic season because there wasn’t this foundation or basis."


“Maybe. [It could take four years.] To arrive and try to fight for Champions League, to try to fight to be the best in the world, you need time.”

“I still have this season and next season to work with this club. Then if we stay very well and we have the same vision, we continue. I don’t see any problems about the future.

"Now we have two years left, but if we have the same vision we can continue to work together. I think that I stay in the right club at this point of my career.


“We have started this path and we want to continue together to improve and to bring this club to have a solid foundation to stay a long time at the top and to try to fight to win the Champions League and the League. A club like Chelsea must have this ambition. But I repeat we need time. We must have patience to work.

“No-one put a gun to my head and said ‘You win or you go away’. The only thing I can promise is work, work, work and that I will try to do my best to improve the club. Sometimes you can win, but you are not building something positive for your future.”