Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has revealed that the side have had to start playing games without proper training sessions ahead of the fixtures, as he reflects to the much easier schedule the team had last season.
Returning to the Champions League meant that a lot was going to change inside the Chelsea team from last season. One of the main things was the first-team training. No longer can Conte keep up his high-tempo practices week-in week-out, as the players need rest after each game.
Last term Chelsea didn’t have to play twice a week and rotation was much easier for the Italian. There were also a lot fewer injuries to worry about, considering how the Blues are now without three of their first-team players.
Following Chelsea’s 4-2 triumph over Watford last Saturday, Conte spoke about his current training methods and how it has been hard to find the right solutions at times.
“I have to try to improve the situation. We have to continue to work. When you play every three days it’s very difficult to work on tactical aspects and physical aspects and pay attention to every detail.
Sometimes you have to play a game without training. Yesterday, for example, I say we are working 70 per cent less than last season but it is normal this.
We have to try to find the solution to be more solid. We have to try find the way to recover the injured players very soon.
But we scored eight goals in the last three games. The better thing is to stay more in the middle and between the two aspects and try to improve your team.”
– Antonio Conte, London Evening Standard
Chelsea will have yet another double-fixture gameweek coming up, as they face Everton and Bournemouth on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.
