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Chelsea finished in lowly 10th position last season, and there was a period that the club was in a relegation fight. This led to the sacking of Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink came to settle the ship and led Chelsea to 10th on the table.

And former Blue Michael Ballack believes Conte’s immediate success is down to his close relationship with the players.

“I’ve really been impressed them for the whole season,” Ballack told Sky Sports.

“Antonio Conte came in and he brought the team back in line.

“They are leading the table really comfortable, by 10 points, in front of Tottenham and Manchester City, teams that all have high expectations.

“But he seems to have good access to the players and pulled up a quick relationship with them which is really important after a disappointing season.

“He changed the system really early so it was interesting to see how quick he can adapt to a new group of players and have such a huge impact.

“He’s a winner, you can see that and he has that little bit extra for when you look to your coach and he’s leading with such a passion and that’s good to watch.”