Antonio Conte said he is not concerned with comparing himself to Pep Guardiola and wants only the best for his team.

Guardiola arrived in England this summer after hugely successful spells at both Barcelona and Bayern Munich and ahead of Chelsea’s trip to the Etihad on Saturday people have asked the question as to who is the more impressive coach.

Conte, like the Spaniard, moved to England this summer after enjoying success on the continent with Juventus in Italy, but whilst in the country is not looking to add honours to his name for the sake of his reputation and instead remains focused on the tasks at hand.

He said: “I think I have to work with my team to reach the best results for us and for sure I remember the first press conference that not many people trusted in Chelsea and our work.

“I think this is a great strength for us, to continue working and to change the opinion of the people. But never do I think about myself, I think only about my team and the club because we win or we lose together.”

Chelsea have now won seven straight after handing London rivals Tottenham their first league defeat of the season when they beat them 2-1 at Stamford Bridge last weekend.

The Blues now sit top of the table and Conte said after a slow start which required patience, his side are now ready to challenge for the title.

He added: “We are working for ourselves to show that we love this club. We have great players and we are a great team at Chelsea.

“Whenever we play and you are the manager of this team the expectation is always high, sometimes its right to be high, sometimes you have to wait because you are building something.

“Chelsea can fight for the title and fight to be the best team.”