Conte on Emerson’s fitness, two up front, chasing Tottenham and how to get the best out of Bakayoko

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte spoke about a number of issues at a media conference ahead of the game against Southampton. Here’s some of what the Italian had to say.

On whether Emerson might play in Sunday’s semi-final

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“At this moment it is very difficult to answer this question. Emerson didn’t play many games.

“We are talking about a young player with really good prospects for Chelsea.

“I have two days to make the best decision for Sunday’s game, to understand who are the players who have recovered after yesterday’s game and to decide who is in contention for Sunday’s game.

“I think he played a very good game (again Burnley) defensively and offensively.

“For sure, offensively, I think he must be more positive and try to have more one-v-ones, because he has these characteristics.”

On Alvaro Morata’s reaction to being taken off at Burnley

“Alvaro was angry, not with the substitution but with the chance he missed during the game.

“It’s normal. When you are a striker you want to score and improve your confidence and the only way to do this is to score.

“I was very pleased with Giroud’s performance and Morata’s performance. It was the first time we’d played with two strikers with these characteristics.”

On why he played with two up front

“With two strikers, you fill the box better and you have the possibility to hold the ball better.

“Our target was to bring more players in the box. Sometimes when we play with one striker and two number 10s, it is difficult.

“When you arrive at a new cub you have to adapt to the players you have and try to find the best solution for your team.

“I like to play with two strikers. My past speaks very well. A lot of times I played with two strikers.”

On Tiemoue Bakayoko

“He is a young player and in this season he has struggled a lot.

“He played very well [against Burnley] with great focus, great concentration and with good quality.

“Maybe when we play with three midfielders it is better for him because he has the possibility to attack the box and fill the box.”

On Pedro

“Don’t forget Pedro’s performance. It was the first time to play as a midfielder.

“He played very well and he showed he can play in this role with great quality and great stamina.”

On Arsene Wenger standing down at Arsenal

“I think we must pay a great tribute to Arsene Wenger for his career. He and Alex Ferguson, we’re talking about the last two managers to stay for such a long time in a club.

“Arsene Wenger worked 22 years for Arsenal. I think that’s great – it’s a fantastic story. He won a lot at this club and, for this reason, I think he deserves a great tribute for his career.

“He is one of the managers who had a great influence on football because, in every moment in his idea of football, he tried to play good football – creative and offensive football. He deserves a great tribute also for this.

“He deserves great respect, not only from Arsenal supporters but from the whole world of football. We are talking about one of the best managers in the world with a great and important career with Arsenal. He deserves a great tribute for his career.

“It will be very difficult to see in the future another manager staying for such a long time at the same club. I think, maybe, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger were a really good story for football. Now it will be very difficult to see that again.”

On Chelsea’s chances of a top-four finish

“There is always an important gap between us and Tottenham. We are talking about five points with four games to go. It won’t be easy, because you depend upon other results – in this case, Tottenham’s results.

“You have to try and gain three points in every game. The only way we have to keep hope until the end is to try and play with the same desire and will that we showed against Burnley and in the second half against Southampton.

“Maybe, with this desire and will to fight, we will reach a good result. We have the possibility, yes.”

On how he assesses his hundred games as Chelsea boss

“I must be honest, I don’t like the stats. My desire is always the same. My desire is to try and win every game. This is my mentality – I have a winning mentality. I try to transfer that winning mentality to the people who work with me.”

On his chances of another hundred

“As I said before, it’s very difficult. In the past you could have a story like Wenger’s story or Ferguson’s story. In the present, you must live the present in football, because you don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Or even today.”