Antonio Conte's three-man defence transformed Chelsea so quickly that it is easy to forget that he inherited a side that had just scrambled to a 10th place finish after Guus Hiddink cleared up some of the almighty mess Jose Mourinho made.

Therefore, when he claims that the club is in a better state now than in 2016 when he took over, there is surely some weight in that argument, even if the Blues finish 5th this season under the Italian.

Not in the eyes of the Chelsea fans, however. Some of them are still agitating for him to leave the club, while others feel that the board at Stamford Bridge have held back progress by failing to secure his preferred transfer targets.

Maybe the memory of Mourinho's aberration in his final year at the club has also faded from the minds of Chelsea fans but we've taken a closer look at the more hostile reaction...

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