Cesc Fabregas Comments on Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Chelsea

Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas has said he and the rest of the Blues players let Jose Mourinho down in the first half of the season. 

The Spaniard appeared on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football and said he and his team-mates did not repay Mourinho's faith in them, which led to sacking in December:

Per Sky Sports' Gerard Brand he said:

"

A lot has been said, and many wrong things about that situation. I love Jose and consider him even my friend, we still keep in touch now and some of the things said were unfortunate.

I think his biggest problem was that he trusted us too much. He gave us more holiday because we were champions, he believed in us more, trusted us more, and we let him down. The whole team, all the players.

That was the main reason why at the end he had to go. And for that, myself and all the team, will feel bad for him.

"

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Despite an upturn in form under Guus Hiddink, Chelsea will not only miss out on the UEFA Champions League but likely the UEFA Europa League as well.

The midfielder also commented on the impending arrival of Italy manager Antonio Conte, who will take charge at Stamford Bridge this summer, and he believes the former Juventus boss is precisely what Chelsea need to make an instant return to success:

"

From what I've heard, and it's probably proved by so many professionals talking about him, he's disciplined, he's a winner and he's a competitor.

That's what we need. Someone that will always be on our back to push us and make us work hard, teaching us new things; the things he wants to do and achieve.

All I know is that he wants to win straight away. No more transition, no more excuses. He wants to win and for that we'll have to be prepared from day one.

"

Fabregas said he had taken the time to research Conte's approach to the game and hinted at what Blues fans could expect from their team next season:

"

I love football, and I've been studying a little bit what he does with his previous teams. I played against his Italy recently and it's really interesting.

You can see that he loves offensive football and you can see that tactically his teams are so well organised.

"

Like many of Chelsea's players, Fabregas will need to show a big improvement next season on the form displayed in this campaign, which has largely been subpar—particularly under Mourinho.

As ESPN FC's Liam Twomey revealed, the former Arsenal star was among the players singled out for criticism by Chelsea's fans in the aftermath of Mourinho's departure:

Under Hiddink his form has been somewhat better, and he received plaudits from Zonal Marking's Michael Cox and Twomey for his showing against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League:

He is still yet to achieve the consistency he did last year, though, and attracted plenty of criticism from the Daily Mail's Riath Al-Samarrai for his anonymous showing in the defeat to Swansea City earlier in April:

Indeed, while he has scored the same number of goals he managed last season, five, he has just six assists compared to 24 in all competitions last year.

To justify his continued place in the team when Conte takes over that must be improved upon. 

The Italian was able to coax great consistency from his Juve players—domestically at least, if not in Europe—and won three consecutive titles with the Bianconeri in his three years there.

The current landscape of the Premier League—with Pep Guardiola joining Manchester City and teams such as Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur able to challenge for the title—makes such an achievement almost impossible in England these days.

However, if Conte can get the best out of the Blues as Mourinho did last season and make strong additions of his own, he has a chance to deliver silverware from the outset.