Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has stated that Chelsea is a fitter team under Antonio Conte than they were under Jose Mourinho.

He said that he has not run that much during a pre-season with any other teams. He said that Antonio Conte is a manager that place a lot of emphasis on fitness and that he wants to make sure that his players are ready for physical battles.

John Obi Mikel said that Antonio Conte makes use of double training sessions in order to improve the fitness levels of the players and this is definitely helping the team. He said that Antonio Conte has brought many changes to the team and that he has also changed the way the players eat. John Obi Mikel believes that this will improve the way the team plays and that the benefit will be seen during the course of the season.

John Obi Mikel admitted that Chelsea was not fit enough last season and this was evident in the way the players perform on the pitch. He said that some players lack energy last season and this was one of the reasons why the team performs poorly. He believes that things have changed for the better this season and that the players have become fitter.

He said that it is not easy to train in the way Antonio Conte wants, but he said that all the players are ready for it. They are making sure that they follow the manager’s instructions as they want to become better. He believes that Chelsea will improve as the season goes by and that they will climb the table.

John Obi Mikel said that the players are hungry and that they want to win trophies. He said that the team is still developing and that they will become better.