“I’m not surprised by Antonio Conte’s success in England,” Capello told Reuters. “Remember, I know him and he did some really important things with Italy, Juventus and Siena. “He’s a really smart manager. He knows what you need to do with the players. He understood when he arrived that something was not good in the dressing-room at Chelsea," added Capello who managed England from 2008-12. “He moved on some old players and that has proved important. He has managed to change the mentality of the whole team.” Capello, 70, left his last managerial role with Russia’s national team in 2015.
“Conte has even helped players like (Diego) Costa rediscover his form and that was even after he had asked to leave the club,” he added. “Now there is a real team spirit in that dressing-room and they have found a winning mentality. They did not have that last season and could only finish in 10th place.” Chelsea are 10 points clear at the top of the table following their 3-1 victory over Swansea City. With 12 games remaining, including a trip to Old Trafford and Manchester City’s visit to Stamford Bridge, Capello is backing Chelsea to see the title race through. “They look like a completely different team under Conte,” said the former AC Milan, Real Madrid and AS Roma coach. "There are still a lot of games to play, big teams to play and it will be difficult even with the points they have, but I think he Conte will win the title with Chelsea.” A win over Slaven Bilic’s side in the derby at the London Stadium on Monday would see Chelsea tighten their grip on the Premier League trophy. The West London club have won 17 out of 19 Premier League fixtures against teams outside the top six this season but have lost their last two games away to West Ham.
Fabio Capello is an ambassador for the Laureus World Sports Academy.
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(Editing by Ed Osmond)
