Antonio Conte believes “blind faith” in his methods has played a key role in Chelsea’s transformation from last season’s strugglers to this season’s champions-elect, or as the Italian puts it, from “an ugly duckling into a swan.”

Chelsea sit nine points clear at the top of the Premier League table and have won 16 of their 18 matches since losing 3-0 to Arsenal in September. Conte then switched Chelsea's formation to a 3-4-3.

“If you compare this Chelsea with the team from last season [when they finished 10th having won the title in the previous campaign] then it’s normal that you’d end up this way: you can’t turn an ugly duckling into a swan in an instant,” said Conte, who took over at Stamford Bridge in July having led Italy to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016. “I’m not a coach who compromises and with my blind faith in the work we’re doing, and in my ideas, I’ve been able to forge straight ahead without worrying about anyone else.”