Antonio Conte would rather his Chelsea players have a 'winning' mentality and not a 'siege' one

Having already described the battle for the top-four places as a 'war' his Chelsea players need to be ready for, he would rather they have a 'winning' mind-set than a defensive one

He described the managerial tactic as 'stupid' (Getty)

Antonio Conte says he does not believe in the old-fashioned managerial tactic of creating a siege mentality, describing it as “stupid”, but instead argued the key is just to create a “strong mentality”.

Having already described the battle for the top-four places as a “war” his Chelsea players need to be ready for, he would rather they have a “winning” mind-set than a defensive one.

The tactic of bringing up criticism or decisions to motivate players has been one used by managers throughout the game’s history, from Brian Clough to Sir Alex Ferguson to his predecessor Jose Mourinho, but Conte doesn’t see the need.

“No, I think we have to try and we are working under this aspect to create a strong mentality,” he said ahead of his side’s trip to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.

“Not because we have to build a strong mentality and you have to feel under attack. This is a stupid thing. I have to transfer to my players, 'Oh, we are under attack from the referees, from the journalists and the other teams'? This is not the right way.

“We are in a great team. I work with great players. Great players working in a great team must have a strong, winning mentality. They don't need to have other stimulation, other situations to push themselves to create this mentality. You have to create this mentality because every player playing for a great team must have a strong, winning mentality.”

Conte also said he was optimistic about the season, even though his team have so far drawn all five games of 2018, and only scored three goals.

“We must be optimistic. There are four months to play. Good targets. We are in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup with the possibility of reaching the final, the fourth round of the FA Cup, the Champions League, and we're fighting for a Champions League place in the league. We must be optimistic and continue to work. Our work must give us the right optimism.”

Antonio Conte's men have made a slow start to 2018 (AFP/Getty Images)

Conte meanwhile praised Brighton manager Chris Hughton, who he knows from when the Englishman tried to buy former Juventus strike Fabio Quagliarella for Norwich City when they were both in different jobs.

“I knew him in the past. When I was the coach from Juventus and he was the coach at Norwich, he came during pre-season to speak with me about our striker... do you remember Quagliarella, who is playing for Sampdoria. It was a really good moment for me to stay with him, to speak with him and spend three hours, four hours.

“Then, before and after the game against Brighton, I had the pleasure to spend time with him and drink a glass of wine, to know him better. He's a really good person. When I see his team, I see a team who has good organisation. He's a really good person.

“From what I saw, I think he's a really good coach. I can see good organisation on the tactical aspects, and I can see his team always trying to play football. They have a good idea. For sure he's a good coach."