Straight-talking Conte breathes respect, says Hasselbaink
STRAIGHT-TALKING Antonio Conte has earned the utmost respect from his players at Stamford Bridge and has built a side that seems impervious to pressure, former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has told Reuters.
The Premier League leaders host tit le rivals Arsenal on Saturday knowing that victory over their London rivals in the early kickoff would send them 12 points clear at the top.
Hasselbaink, who played for the club from 2000-2004, has seen Conte’s impact firsthand and said he believed the Italian was well on his way to securing the Premier League trophy.
“I went to see him the other day at the training ground,” H asselba ink told Reuters in an interview.
“Conte is someone with a lot of experience, a lot of success and you can see he gets a lot of respect from his players. Con te breath es respect , determination and commitment.” Hasselbaink, 44, who left his post as Queen Park Rangers manager in November, said his straightforward approach on the training ground left his players in no doubt about their responsibilities on the field. “Yes, he’s very straight and the training sessions are simple but clear,” said Hasselbaink. “Everybody knows what to do and how to do it. “I think everybody has their own ways but ( Conte) has obviously got a lot of things right so you look at that and you see how you can use that in your own style.”
The former Dutch international netted over 80 goal s in 177 appearances for Chelsea before moving to Middlesbrough and the powerful striker looked back on the clashes with Arsenal with fond memories.
“For Chelsea it was always a big game and it was full of passion, fight and rivalry. It was always nice to play in that fixture,” he added. “I don’t think the manager has to say a lot (to get the team fired up). The match will take care of itself.” — AFP