New Chelsea boss Antonio Conte believes he has plenty to fear from Jurgen Klopp this season, and claims the German’s extra Premier League experience will give him a real edge in the race for the title, as reported by The Evening Standard.
The Italian has tipped us to be competing for the title come the end of the season, and suggests that Klopp’s experience will be a major factor. The fact that he has nine months of experience in the English top flight already gives him a real edge according to Conte, who has only been in charge of Chelsea for a matter of weeks.
“Liverpool are one of the best teams in the League and I’m sure can fight to win the title,” he said.
“Jurgen Klopp worked already for nine months with this team and it’s very important for him and Liverpool to understand each other.
“It’s important to work and have the time to transfer your methods and ideas of football.
“It’s very difficult to go in during the season when a manager was sacked. It’s not easy. You must transfer your ideas in a bit of time and it’s difficult.
“But last season was very important for Klopp and the players. The players know Klopp and he knows the players. It’s important to transfer your idea of football and to have the identity of the player.”
We aren’t going to pretend it’s all been plain sailing for Klopp, but if you expect a manager to come in and create miracles straight away then you’re being a little delusional. Very few managers have the ability or the resources to get immediate results without at least a few speed bumps, and Klopp is no different.
That said though, we’ve seen signs of real progress under Klopp, and now that he’s got a full pre-season and a summer transfer window to work his magic we should see even more.
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Conte is right to fear both Klopp and us, as with the additions we’ve made so far – and potentially one or two more – we could certainly push for the title. We’ll be going up against the Blues in the first game of our US tour, and although it’s only a friendly, it will be a good chance to test the credentials of both us and them.