Antonio Conte vows never to stop speaking his mind… even if it costs him the Chelsea job
Blues' boss admits he is 'not a diplomatic man' but insists being honest and saying what you think is always best
ANTONIO CONTE has vowed to never stop speaking his mind — even if it means losing his job.
The Chelsea boss has had a number of public run-ins with the board at Stamford Bridge.
He has criticised the club’s transfer activity and has also had an extraordinary war of words with former Blues manager Jose Mourinho.
But Conte insists he will continue ruffling feathers because he is not a FAKE.
The Italian’s future at the club, though, looks uncertain.
His team’s bid to defend their Premier League crown is already over as they trail runaway leaders Manchester City by 15 points.
Last week they lost to Arsenal in the League Cup semi-final, all that against the backdrop of Conte being at odds with the Blues hierarchy.
Today his side host struggling Newcastle in the FA Cup — probably their best chance of silverware this season with Barcelona awaiting them in the Champions League.
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Asked if he would ever bite his tongue, he said: “I’m for sure not a diplomatic man.
“I think you can see this, who knows me very well, know I’m not a diplomatic man.
“At the same time, I’m very honest. And when you are honest with yourself and with others, no one thing makes me a failure.
“I’m sure if I try to change myself, it’s right to stop. For example, when I was a footballer I stopped my career. In this moment, I’m a coach and the honest person speaks very clearly in every moment.
“If you’re fake, you try always to not tell the truth.
“I prefer to be honest, to tell the truth in every moment. I hate the fake person.”
Conte was unhappy Chelsea sold midfielder Nemanja Matic to Manchester United, unhappy to miss out on striker Romelu Lukaku and has continually complained that his squad is not big enough.
He has never been shy of expressing his views, something sure to have gone down badly with the club’s top brass.
But Conte has no regrets. He said: “You ask me if I had regrets, my answer is this. I think when you take a decision, you have to go straight.
“Because I think this is the best way to find solutions. Otherwise you continue to complain.
“You must go straight and to try to improve your future if this is possible. Otherwise you must continue to work.”
Former Italy coach Conte still insists he gets job satisfaction at Chelsea — and is proud of what he has achieved at the club in his season-and-a-half at the helm.
He said; “For sure when I was the coach of the national team, I took this decision to have international experience.
“I had this opportunity to have a chance in a fantastic country, in one of the best leagues, maybe the best league in the world. And to face this type of situation.
“I’m enjoying a lot this situation. but, as you know very well, if you want an easy life, you make easy decisions.
“To come and to be a coach in England, now, in this league, is not . . . you don’t have an easy life, because in every game you have to fight a lot.
“If you play in League Cup or Premier League, it’s the same. This league is different to the other leagues for this reason. For sure I’m enjoying a lot my time here.
“I’m really proud of what we have achieved.
“Because I think that we are doing fantastic things and I’m really proud because, to work in this way, you must be really proud for what we are doing — me and the players.”
Conte, 48, believes he will be around for at least another 10 years in management — before he would consider retirement.
He said: “It’s very difficult to understand when there is the right time to stop, to stop yourself.
“But I think that sometimes you think that you are cutting a lot of time with your family.
“But, this is in one hand. Then in the other hand, when you are fond of your job, the football misses you.
“For sure the way that I do my job is, you lose a lot of energy.
“Also I’m not a manager who stays in his office.
“My life is on the pitch, to try to improve my players, to try to put my idea of football on the pitch.
“For sure in this way you spend a lot of energy. To prepare the game every three days, you spend a lot of energy.
“I’m very young to decide, or to think to retire myself. I think maybe another 10 years and then I’ll start to think about this.”