Antonio Conte Deflects From Exit Talk After Chelsea Tumbles Out of Top-Four Race
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte steered clear of aiming new criticism at his superiors after the Blues' top-four hopes suffered a huge blow, as Tottenham earned a 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, the Italian, who has not been shy in taking aim at Roman Abramovich and the hierarchy at Chelsea this season, declined to comment on such matters following a disappointing defeat.
"I think that now is not the right moment to tell 'I said this before'," said Conte. "Now the moment is to try to continue to work with great professionalism.
"We are doing this, and we have to try until the end to do our best. But I think if we are in this position, we are deserving of this position.
"We have to try until the end to catch a Champions League place. In this case, there's Tottenham and Liverpool so we'll try until the end to get three points in every game. We'll see what happens."
Chelsea took the lead through Alvaro Morata, but a Christian Eriksen thunderbolt and Dele Alli's quickfire double midway through the second half took the game away from the hosts, ending the reigning champions' Champions League hopes.
When asked about his future at Stamford Bridge, Conte seemed noncommittal.
"I don't know about this," he added. "You have to ask the club, not me. I repeat, my task is to work, and I know that I work, 24 hours, for Chelsea, me and my staff. This is our task. Then the club has to take the decision. But I repeat, I am not worried about this."
Asked if he had achieved the maximum possible return with Chelsea's current squad this term, Conte replied: "Yeah, I'm sure: because we are working, we are working very well, we are working very hard and the commitment of the players is top.
"Despite this, we're staying in this position. We must be a bit worried about this."
After the result, the west Londoners remain in fifth, eight points behind their London rivals with just seven games remaining.
Antonio Conte's men must pick themselves up for their upcoming FA Cup semifinal against Southampton, which represents their last chance for silverware and to cap Conte's reign on a high, with the Italian's departure seeming more and more likely in the summer.
