The Contentious one

> Conte demands Abramovich vote of confidence

ANTONIO CONTE has demanded a public vote of confidence from Roman Abramovich to show that the Chelsea owner is 100% behind him. And the underpressure Italian has also pledged that he will sign a new contract in the summer if Chelsea offer him one. Conte is under intense scrutiny at Stamford Bridge after public fallings out with the board over transfer policy that have angered senior figures at the club, including Abramovich – and a run of results that has seen Chelsea win just one of their last five league games and get knocked out of the Carabao Cup. Wednesday night’s 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth was the worst result yet for Chelsea under Conte, leaving the Blues’ chances of a top-four place under major threat. Conte is still expected to quit the club at the end of this season, with the Italian FA naming him as one of four candidates to take over as their new national coach. Paris SaintGermain are also interested.

But Conte, 48 demanded a public show of support from Abramovich.

“When there are these rumours about me since the first game of the season, maybe I’d like the club to prepare a statement to say they trust me in my job,” he said.

“I know this never happened in the past, so why should I hope for something different? But I’d like to have a statement of support against this speculation.

“It’s a big challenge to change the approach now. But I’d be glad. You only need one person to speak to make this happen.”

Chelsea and Abramovich have once before issued a statement of support for their manager, in October 2015, when the club publicly backed Jose Mourinho after the their worst start to a season in 37 years. A little over two months later, Mourinho was sacked.

Conte, who only signed a deal that increased his wages to about £9million a year but did not extend the length of his contract last summer after winning the Premier League, even suggested that if the club come to him in the summer he would put pen to paper. “If the club wants to extend a new contract, we can talk. Why not?” he said. “My contract expires in 2019. My desire is to continue.” Former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has been mooted as a possible successor to Conte, whenever the parting occurs, and so has Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri. Conte also denied that he was overworking his players, saying: “If you compare to other clubs, we have fewer injuries. This season we are playing a lot and our squad wasn’t big enough to give them the right rest. We are working less than last season.” Watford’s new signing Gerard Deulofeu, meanwhile, has revealed the prospect of a relegation fight was more appealing than sitting on the sidelines at Barcelona. “I’m not a player who wants to stay on the bench or not be in the squad,” he said. “When I joined Barcelona I knew Neymar was in the team. Then he goes and in comes Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho. So my solution is to come here and regain my confidence.” – Express Newspapers