Antonio Conte played a straight bat when asked about the possibility for Chelsea skipper John Terry to return to the England set-up under new manger Sam Allardyce.
The Italian said: “I am a former coach of a national team. I know these situations and prefer to sort them (in private). That is the right way.
“I can tell you only that John Terry has a great attitude during the training session and is working very hard and I am very happy about his commitment. But for the other situation, I repeat as a former coach of a national team, it is important to solve the situation between Sam Allardyce and John Terry.”
He was ushered out of the pres conference after that.
Earlier, when talking about the 3-2 win over Bristol Rovers in the EFL Cup which they had in the bag before slipping up defensively to just scrape home, he said: “We must understand that when you have the opportunity to kill the game, you must kill the game,”he said.
“It’s a pity because we were dominating the game but then we suffered. Tonight I knew the English cup, I knew the atmosphere, and I can tell these games are very tough for all.
“We created a lot of chances in the first half to score many goals, but I don’t like when you concede two goals in this situation, from a free-kick and a penalty.
“When you leave it open a situation like tonight can happen when you stay afraid of drawing the game until the end.
“We conceded one goal from a cross and we must improve on this aspect. We must feel the danger in every circumstance, above all when there is a free-kick or a corner, because in England usually there can be a great chance of conceding a goal after a corner or a free-kick.”
One player keen to show what he can do is Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
“I liked it because he played a good game with a good intensity. He did what I wanted. In defensive situations he became a midfielder, when we were attacking he became a forward,” he said.
“I am happy with his commitment and his attitude. Ruben has great potential. He is a young player who can improve a lot. I see him every day and during the training sessions he wants to improve, he wants to work very hard and I like this.
“He has the right characteristics to play in this role [as a striker]. He is physically very strong, he is very good playing with his back to goal, he also has good technique, he sees the goal very well, and he has a good shot. He can play in this role.
“It’s right to give opportunities to young players like Loftus with great talent to stay with the first team and help us. It’s the same for Ola Aina.”