Antonio
Conte insists beating Huddersfield and finishing in the top four is
Chelsea's priority after drawing Barcelona in the Champions League.
Conte reiterated it is "impossible" for Chelsea to defend their Premier
League title after suffering their fourth top-flight defeat of the season
away at West Ham on Saturday.
Chelsea's immediate priority remains their domestic form and not the
Champions League, according to Conte, despite learning their last-16
opponents will be Barcelona in February.
"Our priority must be the league, to try to stay up and to try to fight for
a Champions League place," Conte said shortly after the draw and ahead of
facing Huddersfield on Tuesday.
"This must be our priority in this moment. Then, when it is the moment to
play Barcelona we will start to think about that game.
"We must be very realistic to understand this league is very dangerous, we
are to go game by game, to play with 120 per cent of our strength every
game, otherwise we will have a bad surprise at the end of the season."
Conte added: "I'm not happy because the last game we lost. The draw is in
February, I look at the present. I like to win, when we lose I'm not happy."
Chelsea are 14 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City while
just four points separate the Blues from seventh-placed Burnley.
Conte insisted recent comebacks against Newcastle and Atletico Madrid prove
his squad have "character" despite the departures of key dressing room
figures such as John Terry, and defended his summer signings.
"I'm happy to work with my players," he said. "When you are starting to
change to create a base fundamental for Chelsea it is normal [to take time
to adapt].
"You must have passions to work with the new players. They need time to
adapt to our idea of football and to this league. This is not simple."
Chelsea's tie against Barcelona appears to be the most difficult of the
English sides in the Champions League draw.
It will be the sixth time the pair have faced off in the knockout stages of
Europe's elite club competition.
Goals from Ramires and Fernando Torres gave Chelsea an unlikely draw at the
Nou Camp in 2012, taking them to the final with a 3-2 aggregate win as they
lifted the trophy for the first time.
"Our reaction must be positive," said Conte, speaking about the prior
meetings between the sides. "We must be ready to face every team and in this
case we must be ready to face Barcelona.
"It's the past, now is the present and a different story, it's totally
different."
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