Conte speaks with passion and sense

Last updated : 14 July 2016 By Paul Lagan

Antonio Conte arrived in the press room for his first meeting with the assembled hacks to a smattering of applause this afternoon.

I’m not quite sure who they were that were clapping, I assume some pre-arranged PR stunt, that went embarrassingly wrong.

Journalists on the whole, don’t applaud someone who simply walks into the room.

That aside, it was a typical, nervous-free opening by the Italian, whose command of English was more than adequate. 

He was dressed as you would expect, in a nice sharp suite - Italian-made I would guess and a flash watch, twinkling in the reflection from the camera lights.

He is also savvy enough to know that this encounter with the British media would be a friendly, fact-finding mission, with a bit of establishing a positive first impression ion both sides. Yep, there is always two sides.

He was prepared for the inevitable John Terry question and confirmed the centre-back will be Chelsea’s skipper for the upcoming campaign "whether he plays or not," he suggested.

He was a tad prosaic when taking about Chelsea’s ambitions for the season.

He reckons that he will be the "tailor" to make the "best dress" for Chelsea to ensure they return to the Champions League. 

He said: "Chelsea belongs in the Champions League and we must stay there.

I know only the road to take the club back to competing and winning the title - work, work, work.

"The coach is a tailor who must make the best dress for the team. Last season in 10th was a bad season, but we must think to the present."

On Terry he said he and the club "took the decision together" to give Terry a contract.

"I repeat, John Terry is an important player for me, the club and the fans," he said.

"He signed a new contract in May and we took the decision together. We were very pleased and very happy he signed a new deal.

"I spoke to him at different times and he was very happy to sign."

Conte had just returned from a seven-day holiday after the Italian national side he managed crashed out of the Euros.

He will be one of the hottest seats in world football, but shrugged off suggestions that it is a job with pressure.

"I was born with pressure," he said.

"I suffer during the game and I won’t let my players see this, or the fans see this. I hope there is a small flame flickering that can eventually grow into a blazing inferno.

"The pressure for me is not important. I was born with pressure. It’s the norm when you are a player or manager of a great club.

"We must fight for the title, we belong in the Champions League and we must stay there. Every manager has his own idea of football and I want to transfer my ideas to the players."

On the only signing so far in his short reign Conte said of £33million Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi: "He’s a young player but very strong with good technique. He uses two feet, a great talent. I am very happy that Batshuayi stays with us."

When Andre Villa-Boas took charge of Chelsea, the ex-Jose Mourinho scout said that he would like to be known as the ’Group One’ in reference to Mourinho’s self-proclaimed ’Special One’ tag.

Inevitably Conte was asked how he would like to be described.

Like I say, he was savvy enough to fend it off.

This is one very cool character - far removed from the touch line hysterics associated with him.

There is no doubting that come the season, Conte will be off the bench, pacing up and down and barking out orders for the full 90 minutes.

Will he still be around come February? By then, Chelsea and the board will know, by and large where the Blues are going to end up - in or outside the Champions league top four positions.

Conte looks like a man for whom getting the sack is not something to be afraid of. He knows Chelsea’s trigger-finger mentality. And do you know what - he does not care.

That alone will endear him to the fans and to many journalists. But he must endear himself to Diego Costa, Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and several other key players who considered a Brexit of their own from their UK in the summer