Chelsea's ego is keeping them going, but Conte deserves huge credit - Paul Parker

Chelsea are the best team to watch in the Premier League. Everything they do is well put together. The midfield is superb and they know when to sit off teams and mix up their style.

Everyone’s been waiting for one of the cogs to fall off, but they just keep going and going. Even the lesser cogs – Marcos Alonso, Victor Moses – they are getting stronger and are still going. Defensively they look weak on paper but haven’t cracked, it’s impressive, and that ego that Chelsea have from winning is keeping them going.

When they’ve come up against the big boys (except at the start of the season) Chelsea have been the best team. They’ve lost that one against Tottenham, but when they have come up against the lesser teams they’re getting the job done, as the saying goes.

The other teams have stuttered against those lesser teams, dropping points, whereas Chelsea have consistently taken points off some of the big boys but, more importantly, off those smaller teams. It's theirs to lose now.

I was the first person to say that 3-5-2 would never work in the Premier League. But I also always said that the only exception would be if a manager came in who knew the system, who’d had success with the system. There’s no better coach than Conte for that.

Look at what he did with Italy at the Euros. They were probably the most attractive side in that competition and the Spain versus Italy game was the best match of the tournament. The Italians absolutely suffocated the Spanish for that first 45 minutes. Given the quality of that squad, it showed the Chelsea hierarchy just how good he is at galvanizing a team and getting them to play for him… and he’s brought that with him to the Bridge.

What he did with Juve was brilliant too, and he knows exactly what he needs from his squad to get the best out of that formation.

Can he improve Chelsea? Of course. There are still weak players in that side, but he knows how to make the most of what he’s got.

In my opinion, even if Chelsea were to finish second he’s still achieved something that nobody expected him to do. He’s successfully implemented a system that no other manager’s done.

It’s amazing what winning games does, because footballers don’t feel tired when they’re winning games. When players are in a good scenario, winning games and sitting top of the league, then players don’t feel niggles so much or suffer from so much tiredness. If Antonio Conte turned around and told one of those players that he was resting them then those players would be going absolutely mad. They’d been telling him that they don’t feel tired, that they’re strong and desperate to play.

The only change he really feels he needs to make is Willian for Pedro in the away games… and that’s tactical, not for fresh legs.

It’s a situation that makes a mockery of all these modern day players who say they feel tired. It’s absolute rubbish. Players only find excuses when they’re told they’re looking tired, but once you get in a position like Chelsea are then you can see that players want to play in every single game.

It makes you realise how easy professional footballers have it. They’re only playing a handful of games a month, not going out every day, six in the morning until six at night like normal people. They’re only working for 90 odd minutes, doing the thing that they’re supposed to love.

Chelsea, what they’re doing, quashes that tiredness theory completely.

It’s difficult to predict where the rest of the top six will finish, because except for Chelsea – and Spurs to a point – the other four have been so inconsistent that you just don’t know what you’re going to get with them. Even though Manchester United are on this unbeaten run they’re not great, Manchester City can’t defend, Liverpool only have one way of playing and Arsenal… well, they just need a change.

So I would say it’s Chelsea title now.