Antonio Conte Under Fresh Pressure From Chelsea Board After Conceding Premier League Title

Antonio Conte's position at Chelsea is beginning to come under scrutiny once again from the club's top figures behind the scenes, with the Blues already well out of the Premier League title race. 

Wide cracks in the relationship between manager and board had begun to show around the end of the transfer window, with the Italian frustrated with the club's inability to bring in his top targets while their Premier League rivals struggled with no such issues. 

The Mirror report that it is the board who are losing faith in Conte this time around, with the situation exacerbated by Saturday's 1-0 defeat to a West Ham side who sit in the top flight's relegation zone even after their shock win at the London Stadium. 

Monday saw the west London club drawn against Primera Division leaders Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League, leaving open the very real possibility that the Blues will be competing for nothing more than England's domestic cups by the end of February. 

That would be a major blow for a club who spent the best part of £190m on a squad which was already strong enough to cruise to the Premier League title last season, and the possibility has left the club's board questioning whether Conte has done enough with the resources handed to him. 

The Blues have a kind run of fixtures between now and the end of the year, but Arsenal await at the Emirates for both clubs' first fixture of 2018 - and defeat to the Gunners would leave Conte well and truly sucked into a dogfight to finish inside the top four. 

With just a year left on his contract at the end of the season and interest from Paris Saint-Germain - as well as Conte's well-documented desire to return to Italy - the hourglass appears to be running out on his time in London.