- Chelsea board given a message from Antonio Conte on Friday
- Italian says level of ambition will be dictated by the hierarchy not him
- Blues have struggled to replicate last year’s success this season
- READ MORE: Chelsea ace helping Real Madrid star house hunt in London ahead of possible switch
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte responded to questions about his ambition of fighting for more than a top-four spot by challenging the club’s board.
The Italian tactician did a fantastic job in winning the Premier League title in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge last year, and rightfully received plenty of praise for the achievement.
However, things have been much tougher this campaign as the Blues are well off the pace set by Manchester City and are instead battling for a top-four finish to qualify for the Champions League next season.
It gets worse for him given that they’re on the outside looking in currently, as they sit in fifth place and two points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham.
Seemingly not in the mood to take the blame on his shoulders, he told reporters on Friday that ultimately it will be down to the club to show its ambition to ensure that they fight for more than a seat at Europe’s top table every year.
“I don’t know,” he said, as reported by Sky Sports. “This is not a question for me, about the ambition.
“The club has to show the ambition, not the coach. The coach has to work every day very hard but the club has to show the ambition.”
Ultimately, that is a hint that they will have to continue spending in order to strengthen the squad and put Conte in a position to compete with the likes of City and Man Utd moving forward.
The former Juventus and Italy boss has expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of depth in his squad publicly on countless occasions this season, and so again, this could be interpreted as a dig at the board which could be a risk of adding further tension at the club.