Antonio Conte defends coaching ability and says trying to persuade Chelsea to buy top players has been a 'disaster'

Speaking before Chelsea's meeting with West Bromwich Albion, Antonio Conte suggested he is doing the best he can with the players at his disposal

Antonio Conte has fallen under increasing pressure in recent weeks (Getty)

Antonio Conte has defended his coaching abilities in the wake of Chelsea’s alarming slump, saying he turns six-out-of-10 players into eights and eights into tens, and suggesting this knack is the reason the club’s hierarchy has not been spending lavishly on top players.

Chelsea have lost three of their past four matches in all competitions, including a shock 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth before a 4-1 loss at Watford on Monday, form which has seen them slide out of the top four.

It has been suggested that the manager's tough training style is taking its toll. Conte gave his players time off to recharge this week in preparation for a run of three matches in nine days across three competitions, beginning on Monday night with the visit of the Premier League’s bottom club, West Bromwich Albion.

Asked if another coach could do a better job with the Chelsea squad, Conte responded: “I don’t know. Usually in my experience, I think I reached the best results possible with the players that I have to work with.

“I think that I’m the type of coach who, if I have a player who is six, I bring him to an eight. If I have a player who is eight, I take him to a 10. I’m this type of coach.”

But Conte believes his powers of persuasion can be improved, in a marked jibe at Chelsea’s frustrations in the past two transfer windows. “I think I’m a bit of a disaster to convince the club to buy the players,” he said. “I think in this aspect I can improve a lot. I have to learn a lot from the other coaches, the other managers, in that aspect. I can learn a lot in that aspect.”

Asked whether the improvement shown in his current squad might have deterred the club from feeling the need to make major signings, Conte said: ““You are not the first person to suggest this. Not the first person to tell me this.”