Conte: Chelsea relishing pressure of top spot

Whenever you top the Premier League table you immediately become the hunted, but Chelsea boss Antonio Conte claims he wouldn’t trade his side’s current position for anything.

Having won 14 of their 17 league games so far this season, Chelsea sit top of the pile at Christmas – a full six points clear of second-placed Liverpool.

They have flourished during Conte’s first season in charge in a way few people expected and are now heavy favourites to go on and lift the title.

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

The Italian knows there is still a long way to go before the Blues are crowned champions but he is confident his troops can thrive with the pressure of a target on their back moving forward.

“I don’t trust people who say it’s important to stay behind and to not have pressure in this position,” said Conte.

“No, I prefer to have good pressure and stay at the top of the table. We earned this position and now it’s important to keep this position. It won’t be easy.

“To arrive at Christmas and open the newspaper and see you are top of the table is fantastic.

“If you asked me this before, I must be honest, it was a bit difficult to trust to be top of the table at Christmas, but the players deserve this.

“In my experience you can only keep this position through hard work and by facing every game with great concentration, with great focus, and with a great will to fight and win the game.”