Ahead of the hugely anticipated return to Champions league action this Tuesday evening, the pre-match press conference took place this lunchtime.
Attending the event on behalf of Chelsea Football Club were Antonio Conte and Gary Cahill.
Gary Cahill took centre-stage first when it came to answer the questions from the press hacks.
First up, being available for selection again:
‘I am delighted to be back and available for selection. It was a disappointing first game for me. I feel like my season is just starting now and I’m itching to play and I’m looking forward to getting back involved.
‘Any footballer will tell you the most frustrating thing is not being able to play. It is frustrating but they have done well without me because we are a strong squad.’
And on the Champions League:
‘It`s one of the best competitions to be involved in. When you watch the games midweek, you want to be involved. We feel we are back where we belong which is amongst some of the very best teams.
‘Everyone realises that was a freak season for us but we are back in it. We look forward to it and we`re just thankful we are back in where we belong.’
And on the group Chelsea are in:
‘It`s a difficult group, there are some good teams in there. We have missed out a bit. Is the break in the winter a factor? Who knows. We are capable to compete in this competition.
‘You need everything, luck, quality and to play well. You are competing against some of the very best and it`s exciting. We are excited about this competition.’
And on being Chelsea captain:
‘Nothing has changed for me, the way that I train and prepare for games certainly doesn`t change. I want to win and that`s how I play over my career. When the squad is playing well and you can`t influence things. It is about the squad playing well.’
Next to take centre-stage was Antonio Conte with the boss also providing answers for a variety of questions/
On general team-news:
‘One news, Danny Drinkwater had a muscular problem in his calf. We are waiting to check on the problem.’
On Eden Hazard:
‘He is in the squad and is working hard to find the best physical condition. He needs a bit of time to continue to improve and we must not take a stupid risk with him. He will come be on the bench.
‘He is an amazing player, we are looking forward to having him on our squad. He is an important player for us, we are forced to play without him through injury. We tried to win every game.’
On our next Premier League opponents, Arsenal:
‘The only game that will influence is the Leicester game, we used up a lot of energy. We have six more games in September and for this reason there is a necessity to look at it game by game.
On our current leading scorer, Alvaro Morata:
“He is playing very well, scoring and is totally in our idea of football. He played the full game of Spain and Leicester, I have to check to use the best team for tomorrow. I must rotate my players but I am very calm about this because I trust my players.’
On winning the Champions League:
‘I think it is very important to have this experience as a player and competition. Now I think the English team has another difficulty because the league is tough here. Before the Champions League you would rest, it is not easy in England to do this. We are ready and we need to rotate the players of my squad and they must be involved. We are starting a path and to build something important. You need to grow step by step to be like Real, Bayern and you don`t create a big, strong team easily.
‘The chances to win the Premier League last season was zero. When you play this type of competition you try to do your best and win every game and go step by step. We are building something in the present and for the future, you need time to do this. We have to try to do our best.”
And on our opposition:
‘Qarabag are a good team, it is the first time they play in this Champions League. I know some of the players well as we played against Azerbaijan when Italy coach. It is a tricky game and we must pay great attention.”
And on having to consider his side playing anything up to sixty-five games this season:
‘For me it is something new because my previous experience was in Italy. To be realistic it is not easy. When you play against a league you may risk to lose the game. You are never relaxed in England because you have to play in a tough league. Now we are starting to play in the Champions League. To play 60-65 games at a high level is not easy.’
And on squad rotation to cope with the plethora of games:
“We played two days ago, then tomorrow, then Arsenal, Carabao, then Stoke and Man City and then Atletico. You have to do some rotation otherwise the last two games you have no energy.’
Share this article
