Eden Hazard Praises Antonio Conte, Comments on 'Ugly' Season Under Jose Mourinho

Chelsea forward Eden Hazard has expressed his enjoyment at working under new manager Antonio Conte following on from a difficult season with the Blues.

Hazard, the 2014-15 PFA Player of the Year, was well below his best during the previous campaign, which saw former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho relieved of his duties.

Conte was appointed in the summer and is tasked with restoring the side to the upper reaches of the Premier League; the Belgium skipper thinks he’s doing a fine job.

“Conte puts trust in his players and now we are good after an ugly season last year,” Hazard said, per Paul McNamara of MailOnline. “I've always been the same player, but Conte knows how to treat players having played at the highest level himself.”

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The words could be interpreted as an underhand dig at Mourinho, who didn’t enjoy a prosperous playing career.

“Ugly” is a term that would fit well with the Blues' start to the 2015-16 season, too, as the illustrious Portuguese coach was sacked by Chelsea with the team in 16th in the Premier League table.

While a lot of players struggled badly during a testing time at Stamford Bridge, Hazard’s decline was the most alarming. Having burst into life in the season before, many anticipated that he’d continue his progression towards becoming one of the best players in the world. However, for much of the season he was totally out of sorts.

As noted by Bleacher Report UK, Hazard already has a couple of goals this season under Conte; it took him a lot longer to accumulate that amount in the previous term:

Conte has been a breath of fresh at Chelsea and for the rest of the Premier League. The raw passion and hunger he has for the game is invigorating for those watching, so for players who work with the Italian on a daily basis, to have that kind of presence close by must be uplifting.

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The results speak for themselves so far. While the Blues haven’t clicked into a devastating gear quite yet, they’ve been effective and decisive in all three of their Premier League games, taking nine points from a possible nine before the international break. Conte, with his squad settled, will want to see his team build momentum in the weeks to come.

As FourFourTwo’s Seb Stafford-Bloor noted during the Blues’ 3-0 win over Burnley, the former Juventus man is always demanding more from his players:

That’s something that will benefit Hazard. There’s no doubting the winger’s talent on the ball and his ability to influence matches for Chelsea. However, if Conte can add more steel and consistency to his game, the 25-year-old’s stock will quickly rise again.

With a new manager, new faces and a thriving team, the feeling around Stamford Bridge couldn’t be more of a contrast to what it was 12 months ago. Conte’s challenge, with some difficult matches to come, will be to preserve this precarious balance for the foreseeable future.