5 Reasons why it’s all gone wrong this season for Chelsea

#3 Antagonistic Conte

Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte

Reports circulating around comments from the likes of Jamie Redknapp and Gianluca Vialli of a toxic atmosphere inside the Chelsea dressing room are little more than rumours which are hard to verify.

The fact that they’re surfacing now is not completely surprising, given that the club are currently experiencing a slump which should affect the morale within any squad of players.

As a manager with a disciplinarian approach and increasingly hunched shoulders, Conte has already had public fall-outs with both Diego Costa and David Luiz this season.

Furthermore, a public spat conducted through the media with José Mourinho just after Christmas served to cast Conte as a person at the whim of his own emotions.

Having also spent time railing against the internal mechanics of the club this season, a subject he again brought up unprompted following January’s Carabao Cup defeat to Arsenal, Conte has fought a lot of battles which could easily have been sidestepped.

With Conte’s passions lacking the focus and direction which helped inspire his players upon his arrival in London, his downbeat demeanour now lacks the confidence and defiance which he once exuded in press conferences, the dugout and quite possibly the training ground too.