Conte: I am addicted to victory rush
ANTONIO CONTE will not stop going onto the pitch to celebrate with the Chelsea fans after every win – because he cannot help it.
In fact, the Italian has revealed there is only one sensation better than the pure joy of winning – and you will have to ask Mrs Conte about that!
As his team have closed in on the Premier League title, Conte has taken to running onto the pitch after away wins and celebrating wildly with the travelling fans, fists pumping.
Tottenham’s defeat at West Ham on Friday night now means that the prize is almost within Conte’s grasp. A win tonight against Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge followed by victory at West Bromwich on Friday and the bubbly can be broken out.
And Conte cannot help his exuberance. He said: “This is my way, to celebrate. My way to live my passion with the fans.
“After the game, after a win, there is a moment when you are free. Free of pressure. Without anything, only joy. You have this joy in your body, it invades you. In that moment, I like to divide this joy with my players, my staff, my fans.
“I live my work in an intensive way. So when you reach a result, this joy invades your body.”
He added: “Yes, there are other moments when you have this sensation. It’s good to compare. I touch a top level after a win.”
The Italian likes to create a bond with the fans. “My players and I, every single person who works for Chelsea, we give everything,” he said. “I like to have this type of relationship with the fans.
“In every game, above all when you play away, they spend a lot of money on us. To give them this joy and divide it with them after the game is good. You repay them for their effort.”
Conte will this morning make late checks on midfielder N’Golo Kante and defender David Luiz, who have thigh and groin problems respectively, but both are expected to be fit.
Boro head coach Steve Agnew is hoping to put the brakes on Conte’s surge towards a first Premier League title and keep his side’s survival hopes alive with a victory.
Boro will be relegated if they lose this evening and Agnew said of Conte: “He’s a winner, isn’t he, and I think that rubs off on his team’s performances.
“Let’s just hope that we can be the team that comes out on top on Monday night.
“I can only praise Conte because when I analyse Chelsea, I can see as a coach how much work has gone into the team.”
Conte believes that if Chelsea had not had such a good season, Tottenham would have romped to the title.
He said: “Mauricio Pochettino is a really good manager and is working with his team for a third year, so Tottenham had an advantage.”