Antonio Conte: 'No rift with Roman Abramovich'

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte strikes a pose on August 20, 2016
© SilverHub
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte denies reports of a rift between himself and club owner Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has firmly denied reports of a rift between himself and club owner Roman Abramovich.

The Blues started the 2016-17 campaign with four straight wins, but have drawn one and lost two of their last three in England's top flight to drop into eighth position in the table.

It had been claimed that Abramovich was furious following the 3-0 defeat at Arsenal last weekend, but Conte has insisted that he has a good relationship with the Russian businessman.

"I think good communication is important always, with all the people to be very clear on all aspects. It is important this, to be very clear with our players, your staff and the owner," Conte told reporters.

"Mr Abramovich has a great passion for football. To talk with him about football is very interesting, to explain about my idea of football. To have a conversation is very interesting, this situation – I like this. In every situation, if you are very clear it is okay always."

Chelsea will attempt to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they travel to Hull City on Saturday afternoon.

Chelsea's John Terry during the EFL Cup match between Chelsea and Bristol Rovers at Stamford Bridge on August 23, 2016
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1Manchester CityMan City76011871118
2Tottenham HotspurSpurs7520123917
3Arsenal7511167916
4Liverpool75111810816
5Everton7421115614
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd7412138513
7Chelsea7412129313
8Crystal Palace7322118311
9West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom72328719
10Southampton72327619
11Watford72231213-18
12Leicester CityLeicester7223811-38
13Bournemouth7223611-58
14Burnley721459-47
15Hull City7214714-77
16Middlesbrough7133710-36
17Swansea CitySwansea7115612-64
18West Ham UnitedWest Ham7115817-94
19Stoke CityStoke7034516-113
20Sunderland7025613-72