CONTE: IT’S TOO EARLY TO LOOK AT THE TABLE

ANTONIO CONTE has warned his players not to look at the Premier League table until after Christmas as his Chelsea side moved within a point of the leaders with victory against Southampton. Chelsea became the first side to win at St Mary’s this season, setting down another marker following their 4-0 thrashing of Manchester United last Sunday. They have now gone 410 minutes without conceding a goal in the league, as Conte’s players adjust to an unconventional three-man defence, and Diego Costa and Eden Hazard, who both scored yesterday, are returning to the lethal form that saw them win the title two seasons ago. ‘At this moment, it’s not important for us to look at the table,’ said Conte. ‘We are in a good position, but it’s not important. It’s more important to work very hard and trust that the work will improve us. Game by game, I’m seeing a lot of possibilities. It’s the perfect game when strikers score and defenders don’t concede. ‘I have confidence because we can improve a lot. The only thing we must do now is to continue to work. If you ask me a prediction or an expectation of our championship now, it’s very difficult to talk about this. After the first half of the season, you can see if you can stay up there in the title race. In the second half, our ideas will be clearer.’ Chelsea have twice as many points — 22 — after 10 games than at the same stage last season, shortly before former manager Jose Mourinho was sacked. The win lifted them to fourth place. Southampton manager Claude Puel was frustrated his team conceded so early in the game. ‘Chelsea like to stay behind the ball with a strong block in defence,’ he said. ‘They try to play counter-attack. We tried to find solutions, but they stayed tight. It’s a disappointment because we tried to play good football. We can do better.’