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Antonio
Conte says it is a "great surprise" his methods have worked so quickly at
Chelsea as they head into Christmas clear at the top of the Premier League.
Early-season defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal are a fading memory in the
wake of a 10-match winning run that has opened up a six-point lead over both
those title rivals.
Conte's decision to introduce his preferred three-man defence sparked the
improvement, and so good is the Blues' form they have been branded
"unbeatable" by Saturday's opposing manager Alan Pardew.
The Crystal Palace boss' assessment was dismissed by Conte at his pre-match
press conference on Friday, but Chelsea's progress has come as a shock even
to the Italian.
"I think that this is a great surprise," said the Chelsea head coach, who
arrived in the summer as the permanent replacement for Jose Mourinho.
"When you arrive after 10th place in the last season, change the manager,
and try to bring a new method of football it is not easy. You need time to
work and improve.
"In our path there was a difficult method, when we had defeats against
Liverpool and Arsenal, and we started to find the right way for us."
Conte continues to preach a one-game-at-a-time approach and was not
interested in a statistic that shows Chelsea have won the league on each
occasion they have been top at Christmas.
"Fingers crossed!" he joked, before adding: "I don't like the stats. You
find the story. We have to write our own history."
The next chapter of that history can be written at Selhurst Park, where Eden
Hazard will be back in contention, but Conte is wary his side are now seen
as a "free hit" for opponents with nothing to lose.
He said: "Sure, when you arrive from 10 wins that means there is a great
respect for you. But this situation is good for the opponent, when they are
playing against you they have nothing to lose.
"We are winning. I think the position is more difficult for us to continue
this way, than it is for the opponent, because they have nothing to lose."
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