Antonio Conte has stressed he cannot wave “a magic wand” to solve the defensive issues which have undermined Chelsea’s progress this season, with the Italian again to be without his captain, John Terry, for the weekend game at Hull City.

Terry suffered a setback in his recovery from an ankle ligament injury, having been kicked on the joint in training in the build-up to last week’s emphatic defeat at Arsenal.

That has ruled him out until after the international window, restricting Conte’s options at centre-half to David Luiz, Gary Cahill and, possibly, Branislav Ivanovic for the game at the KCOM Stadium.

Stolen momentum

Successive defeats have sapped the momentum from Chelsea’s league campaign and left the manager reminding his players of their failings last term in an attempt to prevent a repeat.

“It’s never . . . good when you’ve lost two games, even against two great teams,” said the manager.

“But also in these two games we saw, and we learned, a lot of important things that we must work very, very hard [on] to recover this game.

“It’s important, I repeat, that we don’t forget the past. The past is there, very clear. We finished 10th place last season. When you finish 10th, it means you have problems.

“Now, with great work and hard work, we are trying to solve this situation: me, the players, the club, together. In this situation it’s important to understand also that we haven’t got a magic wand to change the situation in two, three, four months.

“We must change the situation and work hard together, and we are doing this. At this moment, that’s the most important thing: not winning or losing but work. To understand that only through hard work, great work, can we fill the gap that now we have.”

The power of now

Conte met the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, three times at their training base in Cobham this week but the manager is not prepared to pin his team’s chances of a revival on heavy recruitment in the January transfer window.

“We must think about the present, because the present is now more important,” he said.

“January is a long way away. I don’t see an opportunity in January to spend money or change things. Instead, I see the present as the opportunity to improve: to continue to work and understand it’s not easy.

“We know this in the club. And we must continue to change the story of last season. I repeat: last season it was very clear.

“I think that me and the players, none of us has forgotten this. To use last season as extra motivation to push more and improve.” – Guardian service