BOSSES DIDN’T BACK ANTONIO
Di Livio blasts Blues
CHELSEA should have put their full trust in Antonio Conte after he led them to the Premier League title last season.
That’s the view of his former Juventus and Italy team-mate, Angelo Di Livio.
Conte and Chelsea will – barring an incredible U-turn – part ways in the summer, just 12 months after their stunning romp to top spot in his first season at the club.
Di Livio said: “If you believe in a coach you must try to support him, especially if he wins the league.
“You must get along with a coach, you must be on the same path and you must support all of his demands.
“This season, though, he has found that there are better and more motivated teams.
“When he doesn’t win he gets very upset – he’s a real perfectionist. He was a great team-mate and a true friend, and also a great leader in the dressing room.”
Conte’s departure from Chelsea seems inevitable.
Which means this summer will be very different to the one he experienced last year after the Blues were crowned champions.
Everything seemed rosy then but, fast forward even just a couple of months, and the Italian was groaning that the board had not backed him in the transfer market.
Add to that his very public row with Diego Costa and the fact Nemanja Matic’s move to Manchester United was sanctioned, and he has not been a happy man.
Asked how his holiday will differ this year, Conte said: “You become stronger after a defeat.
“When you win, you don’t see always the problem.
“When you don’t win, you have a lot of strength to try to change the situation, to try to have a good answer.
“A defeat makes you stronger than a win. That strength can be a mix of passion and anger.”
Conte and his Chelsea players have had a tough week following their 3-1 defeat by Tottenham last Sunday.
Today West Ham, who are battling relegation, will try to add to their woes at Stamford Bridge.
Marko Arnautovic (left) got the only goal of the game when the two sides met in December and after that match, with Manchester City sprinting away from the pack, Conte admitted the Blues’ defence of the title was over.
He added: “I remember very well the game against West Ham – it was a bad defeat, it was a poor performance.
“They were maybe bottom of the table, and it was the same against Crystal Palace.
“Now we must pay great attention because they’re fighting hard to avoid the relegation zone.
“The only thing we can try to do every game is to show great desire, great pride.”