Antonio Conte finally admits that he is beginning to relax after Middlesbrough win takes Chelsea to the brink

Always so animated on the touchline as he looks to influence his players and ensure standards don’t drop even for a second, Antonio Conte made one slightly surprising admission after his side beat Middlesbrough 3-0 to go within one win of the Premier League title.

He is finally “relaxed”, although only “a bit”. The smiling Chelsea manager still couldn’t allow himself to completely deviate from the “message” he is drilling into players, not when there is still one game to win.

He admitted that this victory was a “big step” but that it still won’t be easy to make the final one at West Brom on Friday evening.

“Yes, for sure now, I'm a bit relaxed,” Conte said. “This step was big, a big step for us. A big win. At this stage of the season, to win is great. Now we need to do another step.

“We have a possibility to do this on Friday against West Brom, but for sure it won't be easy. West Brom are a really good team, a physical team, and we must pay great attention. But we took a big step today.

“We must be honest – it wasn't easy, but we did this. I must praise the performance, the commitment, the desire and the will my players put on the pitch. It's great to score three goals and create many chances to score more, and to keep another clean sheet. Very, very good. I'm satisfied.”

“No, my message is now we need to take another step. In this part of the season, we always said it's right to look at ourselves and not wait for the result of the other teams. On Friday we have a good chance to finish this league, to become champions. But I repeat: it won't be easy.

“Now we have three chances to exploit to become champions. We are very close. But we need to take another step to become champions in the Premier League, a fantastic achievement for us.”

Cesc Fabregas was by far the stand-out player in a brilliantly expressive Chelsea win, controlling the game in a gloriously creative manner as he was involved in all three goals. Although that comes on the back of a campaign where the Spanish star hasn’t actually started as regularly as he might have, Conte said that only further reflected the attitude that has driven their season.

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“Cesc is one of the best examples for our season because, this season, Cesc didn't start a lot. Then, through work, through hard work, he improved a lot. And now he's playing in every game.

“I think this development of Cesc is our development. We started the season not in the right way, with a lot of problems, but only throgh hard work did we find the right solutions and the right way.

“Now Cesc is showing himself to be a fantastic player. I'm pleased for him. I saw, this season, that he put himself in this team in every moment. If he played or if he didn't play. I think now it's the same for this.”

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Conte also praised the way he his players responded to their “worst moment” of the season, the 2-0 defeat at Manchester United, to win four games in a row including the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur. He said that shows how they deserve to win the league.

“My players will face this situation in the right way. Our worst moment was after the United defeat because Tottenham won again. To see your opponent only four points behind was very bad. Then we had to play against them in the FA Cup semi-final.

“After three days, we had to play Southampton, who had rested for 10 days, and then another game at Everton away. In that moment, I think we had a lot of pressure, a lot of pressure. But in that moment, my players showed me great commitment, focus, will and desire to overcome this moment and then to try to win the league.

“I think, now, there is the pressure but now it's a good pressure. A pressure which much bring in our heart excitement because the target is very close. We must have enthusiasm taking this target. My players deserve to win the league.”