Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has proved he is not just a 3-4-3 manager - Pat Nevin

Tom Doyle3 January 2018

Antonio Conte has shown "adaptability" this season in taking Chelsea on from a 3-4-3 formation to cope with the demands of Champions League football, according to Pat Nevin.

Conte enjoyed a stunning debut season in England with Chelsea, lifting the 2016-17 Premier League title by seven points after winning 30 games.

The Italian coach endured a tough start to the campaign with successive defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal, but a switch to a 3-4-3 system reaped dividends as Chelsea went on to win 13 games in a row to take control of the title race.

Though Chelsea trail current table-toppers Manchester City by 14 points, former Blues winger Nevin believes Conte has added strings to his bow this term with the west London club through to the last 16 of the Champions League and fighting for silverware on four fronts.

Chelsea's winning run in the Premier League under Antonio Conte

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Nevin told the club's official website: "JT [John Terry] leaving the club was a psychological hurdle to overcome and of course the rest of the Premier League would have some ideas about dealing with Antonio’s 3-4-3.

"I was just a tad smug when I explained to everyone at the time that the boss was anything but a stuck-in-the-mud 3-4-3 man and of course he has shown some of his adaptability this season to great effect.

"There are also the extra stresses of Champions League games but the additions to the squad have generally been very quick to settle in and that has helped immensely.

"The perfect example was on Saturday [a 5-0 win against Stoke] when three of the newbies; Antonio Rudiger, Danny Drinkwater and Davide Zappacosta, were each on the score sheet."

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