Antonio Conte says that he wants to be at Chelsea when they move to a refurbished Stamford Bridge in the years to come.
The Italian manager delivered Chelsea the league title in his first season but amidst rumours of a crisis between the board and him, the bookies have already put their money on him being the first manager to face the sack.
Conte’s odds were slashed even more after the embarrassing opening day defeat against Burnley but he wishes to be the first Chelsea manager with a long term tenure since John Neal in early 1980’s who lasted four years in the post.
“I want to break this bad record. I must be positive,” he said. “When you start a job with a new club, I hope to stay in this club for many years.
“This could be a fantastic challenge for me and also for the club, to stay together and also to play with this team in a new stadium.
“Honestly, the new stadium will be great, but I love a lot Stamford Bridge, also to play in the stadium. I feel Stamford Bridge is like my house.”
Chelsea have not even finalised plans to revamp the 41,663-seat Bridge despite getting planning permission back in January.
Tottenham are much further ahead in the line and on course to move into their new stadium in a year’s time.
In the meantime, Tottenham are scheduled to play their home games at Wembley, like they did last season in the Champions League. That did not end up going well for them as they lost twice at home and saw themselves being knocked out in the group stages. However, they will be looking to get off to a good start at Wembley this season as they face The Blues in their first home game.
“For sure it’s not the same when you play not in your stadium. It’s different,” said Conte, who was in charge of Juventus when they moved to a new home in 2011. “But if you want to have another good step to improve the club, you must have this type of situation.”
Chelsea will be without captain Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas for this match against Spurs but they will be hoping Alvaro Morata continues to make a positive impact after his arrival for a record fee from European Champions Real Madrid. As for Spurs, they will most likely play with the same XI that beat Newcastle on the opening day. Harry Kane is yet to score in 11 games in the month of August. Can he break the voodoo?
