Antonio Conte does not worry about his future with Chelsea despite a 4-1 defeat by Watford

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Chelsea succumbed to an embarrassing 4-1 defeat against Watford in the Premier League on Monday further piling up the pressure on manager Antonio Conte whose future with the club looks uncertain after two heavy defeats in a week. The reigning champions were beaten 3-0 by Bournemouth last week and their midfield woes seem to have taken a toll on the team. Despite bringing in Olivier Giroud and Ross Barkley in January, Conte has failed to get the side together and perform but reckons he is not losing sleep over saving his job. For the first time in 20 years, the Stamford Bridge outfit had to face two successive league defeats by the margin of 3 or more goals. Watford scored three in the last six minutes with Daryl Janmaat, Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra all putting their name on the scoring charts. Chelsea were reduced to 10 men with a Tiémoué Bakayoko getting a red car to make things worse for Conte. Watford spectacularly capitalised on Chelsea’s horrendous defending and thrashed the Blues to comfortably take all three points from the clash. The defeat has now put Conte under the scanner but the Italian insisted he has absolutely no concerns about his future with the club.

“I can be Chelsea coach or not. What is the problem? I go to sleep without a problem,” he told reporters after his men were crushed at the Vicarage Road stadium. The defeat puts Chelsea in the fourth position one point below Liverpool who are enjoying a sensational season with the front three of Salah, Mane and Firmino firing. Meanwhile, Chelsea has been a shadow of the team it was last season with a series of dismal performances in the season. Their title defence is all but over with the team trailing 19 points behind leaders Manchester City and Conte knows the club is embracing a difficult time. He called for support from the club administration and requested the board to come out in open and put their trust on him. “I try to continue to work, to improve the different aspects of my players, but today I think our performance was very poor and for sure I have to a take the responsibility because maybe I took the wrong decision for the (starting) 11.” “For sure it is a difficult moment and if we want to find excuses we can find everything – tiredness and injuries. But this is not my way,” added the 48-year-old former Italy coach. “I hope that tonight for once you understand me – I am not worried about my job. I work very hard and I give 120 percent,” said Conte. Chelsea have had a history of replacing managers quickly. Ever since Roman Abramovich took over as owner at Stamford Bridge in 2003 Chelsea has seen a host of managers come and go the latest to face the wrath was Jose Mourinho who was sacked after a failed title defence campaign. The Watford game has put Conte’s future in the spotlight as Eden Hazard’s effort went in vain with the Hornets managing to keep Chelsea at bay. Bakayoko’s red card not only gave Troy Deeney an opportunity to put his side in front before half-time but also the license to a flourishing Watford attack to keep it tight for Conte and his men. They pressed heavily and reaped benefits towards the end with three goals inside six minutes.