SHAKEY’S NOT THE MAN YET
Antonio Conte needs a quick diagnosis on Diego Costa. If the striker leaves the smart money is on Romelu Lukaku returning but Gonzalo Higuain also fits the bill.
The relegated Black Cats face a massive squad overhaul. Eight players are out of contract, while three loanees return to their clubs. Premier Games Total Goals Total Shots Goal Tackles Clean Games Win Yellow Reds League started mins scored shots on assists made sheets won % cards cards he may just throw the bonus that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (below) handed him for winning the title at it.
Conte said: “Every coach has his own contract and in the contract there is a bonus.
“Maybe I will use it to buy a house in Italy.
“In Lecce I have my parents and, for sure, I hope to spend a bit of time there on my holidays, and in Turin.
“It’s an opportunity because last summer I had no chance to have a holiday because we started with Chelsea after three days from the Euros.
“It will be a very calm holiday. I’ll spend a few days with my parents and in the e place I was born.”
The Italian arrived at Stamford Bridge last summer aiming to “turn a flickering flame into a towering inferno”.
And in winning the Premier League title he has certainly begun that process.
But Conte insists his men need to use their success this term to really kick on.
He admitted: “We started to light the fire and this is very important.
“If you want it to be a good season, you must have always this fire in your soul, in your heart, in your head.
“We have just started this and we have to keep the fire burning because we must have a winning mentality.
“You want to continue to win every season. It’s not easy because, above all in England, there are many teams who want to do the same things.
“But we have to continue to work very hard, maybe stronger than this season, to try to repeat a good season.” DAVID MOYES wants his young players to learn from Chelsea what it takes to be winners.
The Sunderland boss may be forced to field several youngsters in the face of a late-season injury crisis.
Lamine Kone and Didier Ndong have joined Papy Djilobodji, Jason Denayer, Paddy McNair, Jan Kirchhoff, Wahbi Khazri, George Honeyman, Steven Pienaar, Duncan Watmore and Victor Anichebe on the casualty list.
Moyes said: “Maybe seeing what it’s like to be winners, what it’s like to be champions, can influence some of the players.” CRAIG SHAKESPEARE is facing D-Day in his efforts to become Leicester City’s permanent manager.
The Foxes’ interim boss will have a meeting early this week to thrash out whether he will take charge next season.
Shakespeare (above) looked a cert for the role after leading Leicester away from relegation to within sight of a top-half finish – theirs if they can defeat the Cherries.
But the 6-1 hammering by Spurs on Thursday night has once again left questions in the minds of the club’s Thai owners.
A delegation left the King Power Stadium with stony faces and sources close to the club have confirmed Shakespeare has been left in the dark.
It appears it has come down to a 90-minute exam this afternoon which will have a decisive bearing on whether Shakespeare graduates.
The Foxes go into the match today with defender Danny Simpson predicting the club will be a force again next season.
The title-winning rightback reviewed the rollercoaster ride experienced by last term’s champions and admitted a finish in the upper half of the table added to a Champions League quarter-final spot would be a good return.
The defender believes that time off from European duties will help.
He said: “Our record over the past 12 games has been up there. If we finish in the top 10 then it will be difficult to argue with. We’ve had injuries and the Champions League which was a new experience for everyone at the club.
“Finishing in the top 10 and pushing Atletico Madrid all the way in the quarter-finals of the Champions League is not a bad season. Would we have settled for that at the start? Probably, yes.
“We don’t have a huge squad. A couple of years ago we were in the Championship.
“Now we are mixing it at a high, high level. To finish top 10 we have coped pretty well. Next season we will be back to Saturday-Saturday.
“And if you look at our record in the past dozen games, it’s good. If you look at matches against Manchester City and Arsenal and the points dropped against Crystal Palace then it could have been better.
“We’ll see what players come in and what kind of group we have. But we’ve tasted the Champions League and we liked it. We’ll see what we can do next season and see where we finish.”