Chelsea Defender Antonio Rudiger Has His Say on Boss Antonio Conte's Rotational Strategy

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has insisted he is happy with boss Antonio Conte's rotational strategy despite making just his ninth Premier League start during his side's 1-0 win over Swansea City on Wednesday evening - their 14th fixture of the campaign. 

The 24-year-old joined the Blues during the summer from Italian giants Roma for around £31m as the Stamford Bridge manager attempted to add greater depth to his squad. 

Since then the Germany international has gone on to make 16 appearances across all competitions, with three of those coming from the substitutes' bench. 

Wednesday's win over Swansea was Rudiger's 10th showing in the English top-flight, an occasion he marked with his first Premier League goal since joining Chelsea, one that turned out to be the winner. 

The victory ensured that the Blues remained hot on the tail of second place Manchester United in the title race, with the gap still standing at three points, but yet 11 behind Manchester City. 

It has been a difficult campaign for the west Londoners so far, with the reigning champions already seemingly too far removed from Pep Guardiola's side to mount a serious challenge, even before Christmas. 

Going into this year Chelsea were hotly-tipped to continue their immense form from last season and battle it out once again for English football's ultimate prize, and although it is still very early in the season, it looks as though that could already be out of the question. 

Boss Conte has faced a much greater challenge this term, not only with the increased performance levels of competition, but also the addition of more fixtures due to their Champions League commitments, something that was not an issue during their championship-winning run. 

Due to this, and the upcoming festive fixture pile up, the Italian has been forced to heavily rotate his side on a number of occasions, with Rudiger bearing the brunt on severaloccasions. 

However, despite not being able to find continuous play time, which undoubtably minimises the chances of finding form, the centre-back has insisted he remains happy at the club and understands his manager's need to change things up. 

"We have some momentum and that is why we also have to rotate and everyone needs to get in their best form", the 24-year-old told the club's official website. 

"We have to keep going and winning," Rudiger told Chelsea's official website.

"Football is about competition and I know we have good players like Christensen, Cahill, Azpilicueta and David Luiz, and it is important if I get the chance to try to help the team like this.

"I am very happy because my aim is always to help the team and if I get a goal like this it is always very good."