Chelsea Defender Praises Under-Fire Boss Antonio Conte Amid 'Difficult Time' for the Club

Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen is thankful to his Blues teammates and under-fire boss Antonio Conte for making him feel comfortable in what he claims has been a "difficult time" at the club. 

Christensen joined Chelsea from Danish side Brondby in 2013, but was then shipped out on loan. After spending a successful two seasons with Bundesliga outfit Borussia Mönchengladbach, the defender returned to his parent club in the summer and has all but displaced Gary Cahill from the starting 11. 

However, the 22-year-old has struggled for form in recent games and was dropped by Conte in the Blues' 1-1 draw to West Ham at the weekend. 

Christensen admits that he's struggled with mistakes in recent weeks; although, he has also praised the support offered to him by his boss and the rest of the squad. 

”It's been a difficult time recently. But I'm happy with the overall season. It's easy to just look at the recent games, but I try to remember I played probably 25-30 games with no mistakes at all before that," he is quoted as saying by the Express.

"Everyone knows you can't go through a whole season not making a mistake, as a defender - it's impossible.

"That's the bad part about our job - when there's a goal, there's a good chance you're the one getting pointed at, but you still have to take responsibility next time you get the ball and do what's best for the team.

"It helps when you've got good team-mates who take care of you and a manager who believes in you. That's only made things more comfortable for me, and now I want to progress even more."