‘Complete Authority’ – Conte Explains Why Matic Is Training Alone
Reuters / John Sibley
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has expressed his desire to have unquestionable authority over his players, and wants to take complete control of the dressing room at Stamford Bridge.
As per the Evening Standard, Conte has ‘hinted his need for authority over the players’ after his decision to leave Diego Costa out of his plans for this season. Price for the Spanish striker is not yet decided, as Costa looks set to leave the Blues and return to Atletico Madrid this summer.
It was also reported that Nemanja Matic could also be heading towards the exit, after the Serbian international was told to stay behind rather than travel with the squad on their pre-season tour.
Conte recently spoke of his desire, by stating: “The coach must be in total control of the dressing room otherwise there is anarchy. If you lose control, anything can happen and probably you will be sacked in one or two months. If you are lucky three months.
“It is more difficult. When I was a footballer, the club had more power. If you give education and respect, you must demand education and respect. It is logical that when you must be tough, you must be tough.
“Then it is right when you have 22 players, it is right to have the same behaviour with all the players – not because one is young and they are different. That is not good. If a player makes a mistake, a young player or an old player, you must underline it and help improve the player to help avoid the mistake in the future.
“Otherwise, if I go and am very strict only with the young player and not the old players, it is not the right way to have respect from the dressing room. The players are at the same level and sometimes I demand more from the old players than the young players – they have more experience to teach the young players the right behaviour.”
Written by Sidharth Jindal 
Sports fanatic with a passion for writing (predominantly football) and “Wants to live life to its fullest.” Writes about the Premier League on his personal blog.