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CHELSEA’S capitulation against Burnley was almost to be expected given the negativity that has festered in the weeks leading up to the season.

When Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United teams or the great Liverpool sides of the Eighties won titles, they strengthened.

These Chelsea players have been allowed to get comfortable — no-one is coming in to challenge their positions. Diego Costa has been frozen out, Nemanja Matic has been allowed to join a rival.

Even before a ball was kicked, Chelsea had a ready-made excuse for failure. Chelsea are not yet in complete meltdown. They will have Tiemoue Bakayoko, Eden Hazard and Pedro returning from injury and Alvaro Morata was a real handful when he came on, getting a goal and an assist.

He must start against Tottenham at Wembley on Sunday.

Antonio Conte will be demanding new players but he is now under huge pressure. Chelsea have never been afraid to sack managers and Conte knows that if he tries to take on the board, there will only be one winner.