Thibaut Courtois believes Chelsea title under Antonio Conte will be even sweeter than under Jose Mourinho

It will be the Belgian's third domestic title in four years

Courtois believes Chelsea have silenced their critics (Getty)

Lifting the Premier League title this season with Antonio Conte will be even sweeter than when Chelsea won it with Jose Mourinho in charge, admits Thibaut Courtois.

The Blues last lifted the title in 2015, but Mourinho was sacked seven months later as Chelsea finished 10^th with Leicester taking their crown.

However, Conte, after a difficult first couple of months, has rejuvenated the side and will complete a full circle if they beat West Brom on Friday night to reclaim the Premier League title.

It would be Courtois’ second title in three years at the Blues and third in four years after spending three seasons in La Liga with Atletico Madrid and he believes this season’s triumph will be “even more special”.

“It's hard to say because obviously in the first year I came here, I came from winning the league in Spain and straight away we won the league, so that was very nice,” he told talkSPORT.

“But this year was maybe even more special, because last year was a very bad year.

“We had a lot of critics, the new manager came in at the beginning of the season, we won some games but then we lost and there were again a lot of critics.

“But then we bounced back as a team very hard and we played very well. From that point of view I think it's very nice to hopefully be able to lift that Premier League title soon.

“I know we're not there yet, but we're very close and it will be very enjoyable after last year.


 Conte's change to a back three has transformed Chelsea's season 
 (AFP/Getty Images)

“We hope to do it at the first attempt. We know West Brom are a hard team to play against - we had a very tough game here (1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in December).

“Every opponent who goes there has a hard game, they are eighth in the league and have had a very good year.

“They might not have the pressure to win the game in terms of their league position but nobody wants to be the team that loses and let other guys have their parties.

“They will give us a very hard game there and we have to stay focused like we were at Everton and against Middlesbrough.”