All over bar the shouting
Gideon REPORTS have a big say in the Premier League and the Champions League, so we’ll be fine.”
Courtois was keen to acknowledge the input from Conte, whose strategy has been as simple as it has been crushingly effective – which is just how footballers like it.
But the legacy of their stroll to the title has been the continuity which allows players to know where they stand not just this term but next year and beyond.
Conte is thought to be in the later stages of negotiations on extending and improving a £6.5million-a-year three-year deal which ends in 2019 and which would keep him out of the clutches of a host of Serie A clubs keen to repatriate him.
Conte said: “It is true we are building something important here. Success in the first season is very important because my players are understanding my idea of football, adapting to my system and to my philosophy.”
Conte celebrated wildly both when Cahill slammed home the winner on 87 minutes and again at the final whistle when he raced across the pitch and leapt into the arms of Courtois.
Cahill was celebrating a great week in which he has not only been recalled to England but secured what was a redemptive match-winner after giving away a (very soft) penalty for Stoke’s equaliser.
Jonathan Walters had fired home from the spot to cancel out Willian’s opportunistic free-kick.
Courtois agreed their resilience sent out a message to the rest of the league but the truth of the matter is that nobody is probably listening any more, with their own battles for Champions League spots and relegation consuming all.
“We can sit and relax on the sofa now and see what happens,” he said with a smile. “City, Spurs and Liverpool all will have seen us win again and that’s very FOR KEEPS: Conte hugs Courtois after another big title step duly demoralising for them. Everyone knows what this game meant to win and the importance of getting three points as opposed to one is huge. “Come the end of the season that could be absolutely massive for us.” It undoubtedly was, but the question as to where the end of the season comes is slightly more ambiguous. Nobody was saying it expressly at Chelsea but everybody believes that, to all intents and purposes, we have probably reached it already.
STOKE (4-4-2):