LONDON -- Antonio Conte insists he welcomes input from Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich as he attempts to improve his team's performances after damaging Premier League defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal.
Abramovich visited Cobham earlier this week to observe first-team training and hold talks with Conte after two losses to top-four rivals left the Blues eighth in the Premier League table after six matches.
In previous years the presence of the Russian billionaire at the training ground has proven a bad omen for Chelsea managers, but Conte says he wants to keep lines of communication with Abramovich open and adds that he enjoys talking to his owner about football.
"Good communication is important, always, with all people," Conte said. "To be very clear on all aspects. It's important to be very clear with your players and with your staff, with the club and with the owner.
"Also, I'm lucky because Mr Abramovich is very passionate about football. To talk with him about football is very interesting. To discuss and explain my idea of football, to have a conversation, I think that situation is very interesting.
"I like this. I repeat: in every situation it's important to be very, very clear. If you are clear, it's always OK."
Reports earlier this week suggested that Abramovich had given Conte guarantees that he will provide money to spend in January to replace Chelsea's underperformers, but the Italian is adamant that he cannot afford to look that far ahead.
"No, we must think about the present, because the present is now more important," he said. "January is a long way away. I don't see an opportunity in January to spend money or change things. Now I see the present.
"I see in the present the opportunity to improve: to continue to work and understand it's not easy. We know this in the club, and we must continue to change the story of last season. I repeat: last season it was very clear.
"I think that myself and the players, none of us have forgotten this. To use last season as an extra motivation to push more and improve."
Conte confirmed captain John Terry would miss the trip to Hull City through injury and is likely to return after the international break.