Antonio Conte says the FA Cup final won’t be his final game at Chelsea

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Antonio Conte insists the FA Cup final will not be his final game in charge of Chelsea, but warned his players they “don’t have a chance” if there is a repeat of their performance against Newcastle. Chelsea were thrashed 3-0 by Newcastle on an afternoon which they began with the potential to overtake Liverpool into fourth, but meekly ended the campaign outside the Champions League places, having won the Premier League last season. Conte’s future is uncertain, but he still has the FA Cup final against Manchester United on Saturday to end the season with a trophy. Asked directly if the FA Cup final will be his last match in charge, Conte replied: “No, I don’t think. For this season, for sure. Now to play the last game, an FA Cup, then as you know very well, I’m repeating always the same thing, I’m committed for this club and for me I support on this.

” Uncertain of selection The Italian, who has one year remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge, has rotated his squad aggressively in recent games and will spend the week assessing his players before deciding who deserves to start against United. But he was left unimpressed by those who played against Newcastle: “For sure we must change, because if we think to play a game like this in the final of the FA Cup we don’t have a chance,” Conte said. “We have six days to change our approach, our desire, our will to fight. And for this I’m the first person to answer for this. I’m the coach. After like this, I’m the first person to answer for this bad game.” Follow us on Facebook: @iPaperSport Yet Conte added a layer of confusion over his position when contemplating how damaging a failure to qualify for the Champions League will be for the club next season. “I think I’m the last person to speak about this,” he said. “You can ask the club what is the damage to finish out of the Champions League. Because I have worked with my players this season. I think it’s not right to tell something about this, because there are other people to judge our season and which are the problem to finish out of the Champions League. “I like to play to win and this is my first season I didn’t win the title. Three with Juventus, one with Chelsea. When I start a season I have always won. There is a great disappointment for me. I like to play to win. To finish fifth is a big disappointment for me.” Benitez urges investment The future of Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez, also with a year remaining on his deal, is also uncertain. Talks continue this week between Benitez’s representatives and Newcastle chief executive Lee Charnley, but the Spaniard is demanding the financial backing to compete at a higher level, after finishing 10th in Newcastle’s first season back in the Premier League. Read more: How Rafa Benitez rebuilt Newcastle United – and won over a city “Now we must ensure we do the right things and that we’re on the same page,” Benitez said. “The fans have ambitions, we have ambitions, and we have to know everybody has the same feeling. The potential is there. Now we can do something more and we need to be better. “You need to sign players to be sure you have a good squad with competition. Don’t forget the medical staff, the sports scientists, the fitness staff, we’ve not had many injuries. Imagine this team with two or three injuries.

We need a squad capable of competing in the Premier League. “The main thing is if we want to achieve something you have to understand which is the way to achieve it: you need some money and a way to spend this money and a way to improve things, the transfer window now is so expensive, the academy, the facilities to attract players, all these things can make a difference to attract players. We have to sit down, talk and see where we are.”