You’ll have to kick me out
ANTONIO CONTE says he will not walk away from his job and Chelsea will have to sack him if they want him out.
Reports have emerged that Massimiliano Allegri of Juventus or Barcelona’s Luis Enrique are being lined up to replace Conte in the summer.
But the Italian said he intends to stick to his side of his deal. “I have another year of my contract and in this case I think the club has to decide to send me away,” he said.
“In football now it is very difficult to predict if you can stay for many years with one club, especially in England.
“Before, managers were in charge for many years. Now all of a sudden you decide to sack the managers earlier. But I’m not surprised. The history of Chelsea is very clear.
“But I am fully committed for Chelsea and am happy in what I am doing.” Whatever Eden Hazard does today for Conte, as he chases his 100th League goal, Leicester manager Claude Puel will not be surprised.
Puel coached Hazard at Lille in 2007 and 2008 and saw him as a future great of the game. He believes the player is far from the finished article – and is uncertain Chelsea will get him there.
“Eden has all the qualities to play for all the great teams in Europe,” said Puel. ❑CHELSEA’S former youth coach Graham Rix and ex-chief scout Gwyn Williams have denied “all and any allegations of racial or other abuse” following a Guardian newspaper article.
Three former youth-team players have reportedly launched legal claims against the club as a result of their alleged treatment by the pair in the 1990s.