Chelsea players are not happy with Antonio Conte’s demanding training regime and the high workload they’re having to contend with this season, according to the Times.
The report says that although this is the same as last season – when they won the Premier League by seven points from Tottenham in second – the players didn’t have to contend with European matches on top.
That’s a big difference this season, with Champions League matches taking their toll.
Chelsea drew 3-3 with Roma on Wednesday night in an entertaining game at Stamford Bridge.
However, they have lost their last two Premier League games, against Crystal Palace and Man City, and they’re now nine points off the pace.
They’re also facing an injury crisis, with four key players set to miss the next game against Watford on Friday.
N’Golo Kanté and Victor Moses are long-term injuries, while David Luiz and Tiémoué Bakayoko both picked up knocks in the game against Roma.
The Chelsea players had three training sessions between the defeat against Crystal Palace on Saturday and the draw with Roma, and players have complained of “fatigue”.
Conte did the same last season but also rewarded his players with breaks, which he can’t do this season.
The players have also said that the current injury crisis is down to the extra workload with the Champions League fixtures, and while supportive of Conte still, want him to “tweak his approach”.
Meanwhile, Conte is blaming the board for not providing him with a squad big enough to attack all competitions.
OPINION
It was always going to be a different kind of season, with Champions League football making demands on the Chelsea players that just weren’t there last season. The lack of European football had a huge impact on their Premier League form, but that’s the consequences of success. Regardless of whether his squad is big enough or not, Conte will need to acknowledge that something needs to change before the murmurings of discontent from his players turn into something more serious.
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