Antonio Conte: 'I want Chelsea players to stay focused'

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte gesticulates on the touchline during his side's Premier League clash with Hull City at the KCOM Stadium on October 1, 2016
© SilverHub
Antonio Conte warns his Chelsea players to "keep the antenna high" and not get complacent ahead of their Premier League clash against Arsenal on Saturday.

Antonio Conte has warned his Chelsea players not to get complacent over the next few weeks as they bid to win their second Premier League title in three years.

Conte's side go into Saturday's game against Arsenal with a nine-point lead at the top, with pundits suggesting that the title race will be all but wrapped up if the Blues triumph at Stamford Bridge.

However the Italian, who led Juventus to three straight titles, wants his squad to maintain the kind of "tension" that helped them win 13 straight league games after September's defeat at the Emirates Stadium.

"Anything can happen," he told reporters on Friday. "It's important to keep the antenna very high. If someone thinks that the league is finished, I'm not so sure.

"I want to have this tension, this right tension. In the past I fight to win the title and I know we must pay great attention. There are 15 games to play and there are a lot of great teams behind us.

"It's important to remember the defeat against Arsenal. It was a bad defeat, 3-0 after the first half. And in my mind it's present, it's always present, this defeat. I hope it's also in the mind of my players. A lot of things changed now. For sure we are a team. We want to have a good game tomorrow."

Chelsea last won the title in 2015 but stumbled to a 10th-place finish last season.

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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Chelsea24192351173459
2Tottenham HotspurSpurs24148246163050
3Manchester CityMan City24154549292049
4Arsenal24145552282447
5Liverpool24137452302246
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd24129336211545
7Everton24117640271340
8West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom2410683229336
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham2494113241-931
10Watford2486102940-1130
11Stoke CityStoke247892936-729
12Burnley2492132635-929
13Southampton2476112431-727
14Bournemouth2475123547-1226
15Middlesbrough2449111927-821
16Leicester CityLeicester2456132441-1721
17Swansea CitySwansea2463152954-2521
18Hull City2455142247-2520
19Crystal Palace2454153245-1319
20Sunderland2454152442-1819