Antonio Conte says he will not try to keep a lid on Diego Costa’s red-hot temper after insisting the striker is staying at Chelsea.
There has been uncertainty about Costa’s future over the summer with former club Atletico Madrid keen to re-sign the Spain international.
He is set to lead Chelsea’s attack when Conte’s reign gets under way at home to West Ham tonight.
The forward’s time at Stamford Bridge has been blighted by a host of disciplinary problems that have overshadowed his performances.
But Conte, a fierce competitor during his playing days, does not want to curb his striker’s temper.
‘I’m happy that Diego stayed here to work with us,’ said Conte. ‘I like the spirit of Diego.
‘He always shows a great passion. I am the same. I think he doesn’t want to lose. I like this passion. I want this passion in the team. I ask all the players for the right attitude and commitment. I think it is important to have this passion for your work, for football. It helps you to overcome difficulty. I always demand this from him.’
Conte has received a glowing endorsement from West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna, who worked with the Chelsea manager at Juventus and with the Italy national team at Euro 2016.
Ogbonna believes Conte is the perfect man to turn Chelsea’s fortunes around after they finished 10th last season.
‘I call him ‘tailor’ because he arrived at Juventus when they were not playing well and the same with Italy and he can repair them, it is the same with Chelsea,’ he said.
‘I think he will bring passion to the Premier League. He likes to improve his players with physical methods and likes to improve the character.’
Meanwhile, Slaven Bilic is hoping to have better luck tonight than when he tried to sign Michy Batshuayi last month. The Belgium striker, 22, joined Conte’s side for £33million from Marseille after a number of rivals had made bids.
West Ham and Crystal Palace were two of those but it was no surprise that Batshuayi opted for Chelsea.
‘We tried to get at the beginning one of the top strikers of the moment and they opted for a bigger club and also better money of course,’ Bilic said.
‘I said to the chairman and (head of recruitment) Tony Henry that if we want to go big-game fishing there are two conditions for us to compete with the big clubs — if we go early or if we put more money in.
‘Then we might have had a chance, on paper, with those great ones. But we didn’t do that. Then it is almost impossible to get the player.’
Bilic signed Swansea’s Andre Ayew for £20.5m instead and also brought in Gokhan Tore, the former Chelsea winger. – Daily Mail