The Antonio Conte Report, Pt. 1: View from the Chelsea Press Box

In the first of a three-part series this week, Bleacher Report takes in the view from the Stamford Bridge press box as we assess Antonio Conte's early impact at Chelsea.

As we enter the final international break of 2016, the new Premier League season is beginning to take shape. We're seeing the impact of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, while some smart recruitment from Jurgen Klopp and Arsene Wenger has helped pitch Liverpool and Arsenal among the title contenders.

At Stamford Bridge, all eyes are on Chelsea manager Antonio Conte. The Italian has been in situ for four months since becoming Jose Mourinho's permanent replacement and has endured some ups and downs as he attempts to rebuild the Blues.

After sobering defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal, the past month has been Conte's best yet. He's switched formations and personnel to make Chelsea one of the Premier League's most exciting teams. In their last five games, Chelsea have taken maximum points, scoring 16 goals without reply.

That run of form has moved Chelsea up to second in the table, just a point off the top. Singing his name from the terraces, it's clear the fans are impressed with Conte, but what do the media think?

Bleacher Report spoke with the Evening Standard's Simon Johnson, Paul Lagan from Kensington & Chelsea News and freelance journalist Dan Levene.

1st impressions

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Come the end of Mourinho's second spell at Chelsea, the atmosphere around Stamford Bridge was being described as "toxic" among journalists. When he first arrived, it was vital Conte injected some more positivity. So, is it working?

SJ: I like what he is doing so far. Seeing the way he has acted since July, not everything has gone his way, such as in the transfer market. I don't think he got everyone he wanted. I like the way he comes across, and he isn't attempting to cause any controversy like previous managers might have done when things went against them.

PL: He's called the head coach and not manager, therefore his terms of reference from Roman Abramovich are quite clear. He simply coaches whatever is out in front of him. No doubt he will have an impact in terms of decision-making, such as whether he likes a player or not and whether he fits into the squad moving forward, but the power lies with the board. His remit is to work with the players he has got in the same way that, at the end of Jose Mourinho's tenure—when he was given a vote of confidence from the board—it was made quite clear that Mourinho had to work with the players who were available. So far, Conte's doing that.

DL: It's a cliche, but he has been a breath of fresh air. It's been very nice to have someone who is willing to engage with the media and, on the appearance of things, be quite honest. He doesn't duck questions and he has a nice tone about him. He speaks very calmly and is a lot of things that Jose Mourinho wasn't, which is obvious.

Talking the right language

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Prior to being appointed Chelsea manager, Conte had never worked professionally outside of his native Italy. He spent his entire playing career there, and it proved the same when he stepped into management. The language barrier in the dressing room was an early concern, but is it any more?

SJ: I must admit, I'd heard he'd been working on his English, but I didn't expect it to be as good as it is. It's not amazing, but it's more progressed than other Chelsea managers in the past who have taken a lot longer to grasp the language. Some didn't even bother, such as [Luiz Felipe] Scolari. He tried and then after a few months just gave up and didn't like engaging with the press at all.

PL: Conte's English is good enough for him to understand the nuances of what people are attempting to say to him, and he comes across as very calm, very collected. At the moment he hasn't had to put up with a tremendous amount of difficulty. He's had a couple of bad results, but then that was against Liverpool and Arsenal—one could almost accept that being the case.

I think we need to give a little bit of credit to Conte's shadow, Carlo Cudicini. He sits there in every post-match press conference and keeps an eye on what's happening. He doesn't intervene but will should anything need to be interpreted. I've been at games where he's interpreted things for Conte because the manager wants to get across what he wants to say, not necessarily what the club wants him to say.

DL: It's great to see him speaking English and being so willing. Apparently he doesn't have any Italian spoken at the training ground at all. He will not have it, even among the Italians—when they speak to each other, it has to be in English. It's a great sign and shows willing from him. He's known for a while that he's been coming here and he's been learning. His English has come on well since pre-season, and he doesn't need the translator who is put there for him.

Media relations

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In these days of social media and mega-bucks TV deals, media relations play a big part in the decision making at football clubs. Has Conte got the press onside in his first four months in England?

SJ: Conte isn't going to come out with explosive headlines or quirky jokes. He says enough to give us, the media, and the Chelsea fans an insight to what he is thinking. You ask him a straight question and he gives a straight answer. I recently asked him about any regrets on missing out on Romelu Lukaku and he just said: "No. We have Diego Costa who is in excellent form." Other managers may have ducked that question completely because they wouldn't want to fire up Lukaku ahead of a big game. He wasn't afraid to say that Costa was his man and that he's in great form. And that's all we want.

PL: He's been consistent with his conduct in the media. Fans see him as this energetic, almost neurotic person on the sidelines, but speak to him one-on-one and you'll find he is controlled and very measured.

It's good for the fans that a manager has a good relationship with the fans. We are the conduits through which they get to know what the manager is thinking. It's also a double-edged sword as they use the press to influence their own thoughts to influence how fans are thinking. When things are going well, there's not usually a problem. It's when things go bad that we find out truly what the club are thinking, and that is reflected in what the manager communicates to the press.

DL: I think the club sees it as important that the manager has a good relationship with the press, which is why I was quite surprised when Mourinho came back [in 2013]. We've seen down the years that they've tried to get a manager in who likes an easy life, like it was with Carlo Ancelotti and Guus Hiddink.

The Premier League doesn't need the fireworks, and Conte has been a lot calmer than other managers and dealt with the media differently.

The policy of youth

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Dominating youth football at home and abroad, Chelsea have struggled to replicate that success with the first team. For all the talent in the academy, Chelsea fans are still waiting for the next star to emerge. Is Conte helping that process?

SJ: I like the fact he is prepared to give kids a chance. We're seeing players like [Nathaniel] Chalobah come in that, again, under previous managers, we wouldn't have seen.

PL: I agree also that Chalobah and others have been given a run-out and so forth, but personally that's all it is. It's a matter of convenience, and we've seen in the recent game against Everton that only really Chalobah is there. He has good legs and fits into Conte's idea of movement on the pitch, but the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek aren't going to be seen widely.

DL: There are clear signs Conte's paying more than lip service to youth talent—unlike other recent bosses. Nathaniel Chalobah looks like the main focus for him, but there are good signs for Ola Aina, too. He seems to have a belief that with the right attitude, and enough hard work, he can make a success of pretty much any player—in just the way Mourinho and Hiddink failed to do last season.

Has Conte humiliated other managers with his antics on the sidelines?

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When Chelsea recently defeated Manchester United 4-0 at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho was rumoured to have told Conte that his behaviour was humiliating to him and his players. Has that been the case?

DL: Not at all. The fans love that sort of thing, don't they? Anyone who has paid to go to a game and seen a team underperforming with the manager sat there cross-armed gets frustrated. Fans want to see basic emotions and Chelsea fans will never want for that with Conte. It's just how he is.

There was an interesting comment Conte made after the game, when he said: "I've played the game." It was a part dig at Mourinho but also showing that he wears his heart on his sleeve.

Will he last the full term of his contract?

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Conte is the seventh permanent managerial appointment Abramovich has made since he took over the club in 2003. Some big names have come and gone in that time, with even Mourinho being sacked twice. Conte has a three-year contract, but will he last that long in the Stamford Bridge hotseat?

SJ: The general consensus is that, without naming any names, it doesn't matter how results go as the media will turn on you anyway. The vibe I'm getting from a number of journalists, though, is that they quite like Conte and they want him to do well. Again, I keep referencing previous managers, but it's true: There are managers where the general media wanted them to fail. With Conte, they want him to stick around, as he's generally a nice bloke.

This is Chelsea, isn't it? The only way that he can survive three years is by winning silverware. It was only a few weeks ago when we had the issue with the betting odds, and that was after the Arsenal and Liverpool defeats. Only Mourinho has done three years at this club, so the weight of history is against Conte.

PL: I think he can survive his three years. He knows how to handle the media and he knows how to handle Roman Abramovich and the people within the hierarchy to a degree. If he produces the goods on the pitch, there's absolutely no reason why he shouldn't, although things can change very quickly at Chelsea.

DL: It was so quick the turnaround when Mourinho went from hero to out the door last year, you just can't say with Chelsea. You really can't. The club definitely wants it to happen, there's no question in that all. We've just got to hope that they get what they want.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes