Conte wary of Mourinho and Ranieri woes

Antonio Conte is determined to ensure Chelsea avoid a “Mourinho season” in their defence of the Premier League title this season.

The Blues won the title under the Portuguese in 2015, but Jose Mourinho was sacked the following December with the club having endured a nightmare start and languishing in 16th.

Chelsea regained the trophy in Conte’s maiden campaign, with Tottenham seven points adrift in second.

Conte, whose side head back from a pre-season trip to China and Singapore following back-to-back defeats to Bayern Munich and Inter, knows the pressure is on to avoid a similar fate.

Antonio Conte makes time to sign some shirts on his way to the team coach… #CFCTourpic.twitter.com/XnexWEf20r

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) 29 July 2017

“We know the difficulty of the next season and for sure we want to avoid the Mourinho season with Chelsea,” he said.

“Two years ago the team ended the league in 10th place and we want to avoid this.

“Personally, I want to try to avoid the last two seasons. Because two coaches were sacked, from Chelsea and then from Leicester after they won the league. For sure I want to avoid that.

“And we are working very well. I hope to find the best solution in the future. We have a lot of young players and then if it’s necessary we have to try to improve these players.”