Awkward London derby for Chelsea’s colourful manager
WEST Ham United coach Slaven Bilic is backing Antonio Conte to make a big impact at Chelsea, but is confident his side can cause problems for their London rivals when they meet tomorrow night.
Conte will oversee his first competitive fixture at Stamford Bridge with the 2015 champions after having guided Italy to the 2016 European Championship quarterfinals.
“Antonio Conte is a great manager and wants to change the way they [Chelsea] approach the game and the principles. I rate him very highly,” Bilic told reporters. “We expect a tough game on Monday.
“I am sure he will do a good job there,” the 47-year-old Croatian coach added. “We beat the big teams away last season and it was a good experience for us.”
Bilic, who guided West Ham to seventh last season, also confirmed that his side are close to completing the signing of Argentine forward Jonathan Calleri.
“We will sign Calleri and he will be with us pretty soon depending on the work permit,” he said. “He is a top striker and we have a good balance in the squad.”
Meanwhile, Conte has swaggered into Stamford Bridge determined to shake up a squad that went stale during their woeful Premier League title defence.
After two years in charge of the Italian national team, the 47-year-old is making the most of his return to the day-to-day cut and thrust of club management.
Drilling his new players for up to six hours on the training pitch in the blazing California heat during Chelsea’s pre-season tour, the Italian’s ferocious work ethic quickly became clear.
Conte used a megaphone to shout instructions at his players during the early days of his managerial career and although he hasn’t gone to that extreme at Chelsea yet, he has made his feelings known as vocally as possible and his throat has taken the brunt of those tirades. —