Chelsea are fully behind Antonio Conte despite uncertainty over his future after public transfer stand-off
Cahill insisted they would still be in the title hunt if not for Manchester City's record run
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea captain Gary Cahill says the squad are 100 per cent behind manager Antonio Conte, despite the uncertainty over his future.
“Of course we are,” Cahill said after the 3-0 FA Cup win over Newcastle United. “There is nothing between the manager and players, whatsoever. We continue to work hard.”
The continuing, semi-public stand-off between Conte and the Chelsea board over recruitment - one which is still likely to see Conte leaving the club at the end of the season - is poised to come to a head during the last few days of the transfer window.
But Cahill insisted that there were no divisions in the dressing room, and that the club were focused on securing second place in the Premier League behind Manchester City.
“It is between the manager and the board,” he said. “We have no idea what's going on between the lines. We just continue to give what we can for him. That's the way we have to be.
“If Manchester City hadn't done what they've done, the title would still be there to be won. They’ve broken Premier League records. If they hadn't done as well as that, and I know it sounds obvious, we would still be in with a chance of the title. We still aim to fight for second place. We have a big month coming up in February.”
Cahill lamented the fixture pile-up that will see them play a total of 18 games in December and January, and reiterated his call for a winter break. “The last couple of months have been demanding, to say the least,” he said. “In terms of the fixture pile-up, I wonder if it has been worse than before. I don’t know if it is, but it feels very heavy.
“I’d love to see how some of the other leagues do right now after having a two-week winter break, see what that feels like. Aside from that, we just continue. The manager has tried to rotate to keep people fresh. But he can only do so much because of the number of personnel in the squad.
“However heavy it is, we are not going to be able to change the fixtures. It is what it is. I’m not complaining about it, I’ve done it for years and years. We just get on with it.”
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