Antonio Conte Warns Premier League Rivals That Manchester City Could Be Set for Long Reign

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte believes that Manchester City's reign at the top of the Premier League table could last for a 'long time' after admitting his admiration for his Citizens counterpart Pep Guardiola.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea's trip to the Etihad on Sunday, the former Juventus boss claimed that there is a 'great danger' that City will dominate English football for the next few years.

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"I have great admiration for Pep. He showed himself to be a great coach," Conte told a press conference - quoted by the Mirror. "I think that, now, it will be very difficult for other teams to fight Manchester City.

"When you have a great coach and the possibility to spend a lot of money and keep happy your coach and your staff, it's difficult for the others. Very difficult.

"This is a great danger for the panoramic of the other teams. For a long time the situation is going to improve. Not to stop, but to improve for them."

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Conte's comments about the size of City's transfer budget could have been a sly dig taken at the Chelsea hierarchy.

It is already known that the Italian is unhappy after being unable to sign the players he wanted to in the January transfer window, with the arrival of Ross Barkley and Olivier Giroud failing to spark any sort of enthusiastic response from Conte.