Antonio Conte makes his feelings clear ahead of Stamford Bridge return

The Tottenham boss faces his former club for the first time since his sacking in 2018.

Tottenham will face Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. The game marks the first time Antonio Conte meets his former side since leaving the club in July 2018.

Tottneham have made significant improvement since arrival of Conte earlier this season. Ahead of the game against Chelsea, Conte says he is happy with the team’s recent development.

“I created a good relationship with players, staff and people who work at Chelsea,” he said (via the Evening Standard). “We did a really good job and I think in my position I mustn’t prove anything to anyone. I’m a manager that has experience and continues to have experience in my career and do important jobs at other teams.

Asked about his return to Stamford Bridge, Conte responded:

“It’ll be a pleasure for me to come back to Stamford Bridge because I spent two important seasons with Chelsea and left a lot of good relationships with the players who continue to play for Chelsea. It’ll be good for me to see them.”

Tottenham have remained unbeaten since the arrival of Conte. The Spurs are sixth in the Premier League as they have revived their hopes of securing a Champions League spot.

It was over coffee and Kyle Walker that the cracks between Antonio Conte and Chelsea first appeared. Here's the story of the most expensive divorce in English football history ahead of Conte's first return to Stamford Bridge #cfc #thfc https://t.co/3w5as1zLsC
— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) January 4, 2022

Despite admitting Chelsea are the favourites, Conte insists his side will do their best to get to the final.

“It’s always very important to win trophies – for the club, for the players, for the managers,” he added. “On one hand, I have to say this. On the other, you have to build to win trophies. You can’t win trophies by speaking and saying you want to win.

“You have to build something. At this moment, Chelsea is more ready than us to win. They won the Champions League last season, while we have a lot of space for improvement, to be a team with aspirations to win.

“For sure, we’ll do everything to reach the final of this trophy. But I repeat: to use this verb ‘to win’ is more simple than winning because to win you have to build something important, be solid, have an important squad. Then you’re ready to win. Otherwise you have to hope. Hope in the work you’re doing and hope to do something outstanding.”

Following the match against Chelsea, Conte’s side will face Morecambe in the FA Cup on Sunday.