LONDON -- Chelsea coach Antonio Conte was "satisfied" with John Terry's performance in Wednesday's EFL Cup defeat against West Ham and says his captain will remain important whether or not he is on the pitch.
Terry made his first appearance in six weeks at the London Stadium after a prolonged recovery from strained ankle ligaments, and the 35-year-old's performance in the centre of Conte's back three attracted criticism as Chelsea were eliminated from the cup.
Before the West Ham match, Chelsea had recorded three consecutive Premier League clean sheets in Terry's absence, raising questions about his long-term viability in the starting XI at Stamford Bridge -- but Conte on Friday was adamant that his captain still has a big role to play.
"I must be honest, I don't like to talk about the performance of individual players," Conte said when asked about Terry's performance against West Ham. "We win together and we lose together in every circumstance.
"John came back from an injury and it's not easy to restart and find quickly the right shape, but I'm satisfied with him and the team. We wanted to win and continue in the cup, but it didn't happen and it's a pity.
"John is an important player for us if he plays or if he doesn't play -- for the changing room, for the teammates, for the club. In this case it's always important to think about the team, and not about an individual player. I have always to take the best decision for the team, and never for an individual player."
Wednesday's defeat brought to an end a run of three consecutive wins since Conte's decision to switch Chelsea to a 3-4-3 system, and the Italian is adamant that his faith in the new formation has not been shaken by the setback.
"I think that it's not a win or defeat that can change my idea or the confidence of the players," he added. "After two defeats against Arsenal and Liverpool in the future we must never play with 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, if it's only a problem with the system. I think this is the right way for the players.
"This system is a good fit for the team. We found a good balance, especially in offensive situations because in every game we've scored a goal.
"For sure we must continue to work on some movements in offensive situations and also in defensive situations, because it's different when you defend with four and when you defend with three. There are a lot of possibilities and we want to continue in this aspect.
"We are working very hard to improve, because we understand that this way is the right way."
Conte maintains that he took a number of positives from Chelsea's performance at the London Stadium, including several tactical experiments that he is prepared to repeat in the Premier League in the coming weeks.
"After the West Ham game I said that I saw a lot of things that can be useful for the future," Conte said. "For example, I saw Pedro as a wing-back and Oscar as one of the two midfielders, and Oscar in a position like a striker.
"I had a positive answer and I want to use this answer in the league for our future. Now I have more solutions because I have tested this."