Chelsea winger Pedro has revealed that what has surprised him most about new manager Antonio Conte this season is just how quickly he has managed to turn things around at Stamford Bridge after inheriting a squad who finished 2015/16 in 10th place.
"In my career, I have worked with really good managers, like Pep Guardiola and Vicente del Bosque. But one thing that has really surprised me about Antonio is how he managed to turn around the team so quickly," Pedro told the Daily Telegraph.
The difference between this season and the last at Chelsea is incredible. As well as putting a new tactical system into place, Conte has instilled new belief and a positive mentality in stark contrast to the attitude that had developed during Jose Mourinho's final weeks in charge.
In just a few short months, Conte has found the formula and Chelsea sit six points clear at the top of the Premier League as a result.
"He put trust and belief in all of the players and then we started winning matches," Pedro said as he explained what the new boss has done to change things.
"Quite easily, he just turned things around. He put the trust, the belief in all of us that we could win matches, that we could win the League.
"It's just like everything turned really quickly. We started to go really well, our trust started growing and everything became really positive. We've got a lot of trust and that really helps.
"One of the key things is the trust we have with everybody. Everybody trusts each other and it means we work really well together as a team. When we get a chance we take it and that makes the team feel more relaxed and play with more confidence."
Pedro's surprise echoes what Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola said on the subject last week.
"I've been very impressed because I didn't expect him to achieve what he has so early, but I know Antonio, I know his qualities as a coach and I had no doubt he was going to do a good job," the Italian said of his fellow countryman.
"What is good is that he's been able to get into the system so quickly."
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