Antonio Conte dismissed the suggestion that his Chelsea players should be motivated by a desire to help him keep his job after Olivier G...
Antonio Conte dismissed the suggestion that his Chelsea players should be motivated by a desire to help him keep his job after Olivier Giroud inspired a stirring comeback to beat Southampton.
Chelsea trailed 2-0 with an hour played at St Mary's thanks to strikes from Dusan Tadic and Jan Bednarek, but Giroud came off the substitutes' bench to score two goals and help create another for Eden Hazard as the Blues claimed only their fourth Premier League victory of 2018.
The result also provided some much-needed respite for Conte, who began the week as the subject of intense speculation that he had been sacked by Chelsea following a disappointing 1-1 draw with West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
But when it was put to him that Chelsea's spirited response at St Mary's was a sign that his players are still fighting for him, Conte replied: "I can't accept this [concept], because I was a player. The player must play every game not for me, but for the club and for the fans.
"They must have great respect for this badge. They don't have to play for the coach. They have to play for the club and the fans, to show great character like today. This is the best possible way for a player to show he is a fantastic professional.
"You have to play to try to win. We work very hard every day. I work very hard, my staff work very hard, the players work very hard, and especially in this type of situation when there is great difficulty you must show [yourself] to be a man before a player. They did this."
Conte and Chelsea are expected to part ways at the end of the season, following months of private and public tensions over the transfer policy.
The Italian has also clashed with players. Diego Costa claimed that he "lacks charisma" before completing a messy and protracted move back to Atletico Madrid last summer. And David Luiz, currently sidelined with a knee injury, was replaced by Andreas Christensen in the starting XI in November after coming into conflict with his head coach during a training session at Cobham.
Antonio Rudiger was omitted from the matchday squad to face Southampton despite being fully fit, and some have suggested that his absence was a response to him appearing to question Chelsea's tactical approach in a TV interview after the West Ham draw.
Asked about his omission of Rudiger at St Mary's, Conte replied simply: "It was a tactical decision."
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