Saturday 17 December 2016 13:41, UK
Antonio Conte says it is a "great surprise" his methods have worked so quickly at Chelsea as they head into Christmas clear at the top of the Premier League.
Early-season defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal are a fading memory in the wake of a 10-match winning run that has opened up a six-point lead over both those title rivals.
Conte's decision to introduce his preferred three-man defence sparked the improvement, and so good is the Blues' form they have been branded "unbeatable" by Saturday's opposing manager Alan Pardew.
The Crystal Palace boss' assessment was dismissed by Conte at his pre-match press conference on Friday, but Chelsea's progress has come as a shock even to the Italian.
"I think that this is a great surprise," said the Chelsea head coach, who arrived in the summer as the permanent replacement for Jose Mourinho.
"When you arrive after 10th place in the last season, change the manager, and try to bring a new method of football it is not easy. You need time to work and improve.
"In our path there was a difficult method, when we had defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal, and we started to find the right way for us."
Conte continues to preach a one-game-at-a-time approach and was not interested in a statistic that shows Chelsea have won the league on each occasion they have been top at Christmas.
"Fingers crossed!" he joked, before adding: "I don't like the stats. You find the story. We have to write our own history."
The next chapter of that history can be written at Selhurst Park, where Eden Hazard will be back in contention, but Conte is wary his side are now seen as a "free hit" for opponents with nothing to lose.
He said: "Sure, when you arrive from 10 wins that means there is a great respect for you. But this situation is good for the opponent, when they are playing against you they have nothing to lose.
"We are winning. I think the position is more difficult for us to continue this way, than it is for the opponent, because they have nothing to lose."
