Conte’s training bores the players, says Ferdinand

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has warned Antonio Conte that he might be threading on soft sand by forcing his players to adhere to repetitive training that they might find boring, Metro reveals.

Conte, who arrived to Chelsea in the summer, has completely transformed the team as the Blues are sitting comfortably at the top of the Premier League with a 10-point lead.

The positive transformation followed a change in formation to 3-4-3, which Ferdinand believes is heavily reliant on repetitive training to sustain.

“The key to sticking to 3-4-3 will be repetition, repetition, repetition.” he said. “Chelsea play well because Antonio Conte lives and breathes repetition of phases of play, of game management, of team shape.

“From people at Chelsea I know his sessions are mundane. Players think initially ‘What’s this?’ They want to enjoy training yet he has them playing against shadows, practicing their positions depending where the ball is.

“You stop and freeze and he breaks down the game for you. These are 30-40 minute sessions that could be boring, but when the players see it working and the pictures he has painted in training appear in games, they believe.”

Conte has transformed the mood inside club completely from last season when internal strife between the players and former manager Jose Mourinho pushed Chelsea close to the relegation zone and eventually got the manager the sack. Conte, however, currently looks untouchable as Chelsea are a riding of wave of self-belief and confidence in their trophy challenges this year.

Chelsea’s quest for the title continues on Saturday when they host Crystal Palace, although they will be without the services of Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois who sustained injuries during the international break.