Conte says he needs time to sort out Chelsea

Antonio Conte says he will need time to turn things around at Chelsea.

The Italian, who took over at Stamford Bridge in the summer, enjoyed an excellent start to his reign.

But Chelsea have stumbled in recent weeks, losing at home to Liverpool and then slumping to a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal.

They have struggled badly without injured captain John Terry and Conte has been tipped to make changes for today’s game at Hull.

But the former Juventus boss believes Chelsea’s shortcomings last season showed there are deep-rooted problems that need to be addressed.

“We finished 10th last season. When you finish 10th it means you have problems,” Conte said.

“Now we are trying to solve this situation, but we haven’t got a magic wand.”

He added: “It is never good when you lose, but I think also in these two games we saw and learnt a lot of important things. We must work very hard to recover.

“We faced two teams who were very strong. These two teams are now at the top. We have a lot to improve, but this is the hope we must have.

“I see the present and the opportunity to improve. It’s not easy, but we know this.”

Chelsea will again be without Terry when they face Hull this afternoon.