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Antonio Conte believes that he can take advantage of Chelsea's Champions League absence to sharpen their Premier League title challenge. The Blues finished 10th last term, after a hugely unsuccessful title defence that cost Jose Mourinho his job in December. Guus Hiddink steadied the ship with a calm caretaker stint, allowing Chelsea to recruit the Italy manager on completion of his Euro 2016 duties. Conte exploited Juventus' lack of Champions League football to pick up the Serie A title in his first season managing the Italian giants in 2011-12, and is already eyeing a repeat in west London. "Not playing in the Champions League could be an opportunity because I will be able to work more with my players,'' Conte told the Evening Standard. "If you ask me if I prefer this situation, I don't because Chelsea must be in this competition. You do feel like you're missing something when you're not involved in the Champions League. It is a special competition and you want to play in it every year. "But because we are not, I will have a whole week to train with my players and that gives me a chance to work with them more compared to Chelsea managers in previous seasons.'' Former Juventus midfielder Conte won 20 Italy caps between 1994 and 2000, before later leading the same club to three Serie A titles as manager.
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