Antonio Conte is “more than capable” of getting Chelsea back on track, says former Premier League title winner Eidur Gudjohnsen.
The Blues have struggled for consistency this season, having swept to the English top-flight crown in 2016-17.
A return to European competition has added to the workload at Stamford Bridge, with the club suffering a 3-0 reverse at Roma in their last continental clash.
That result is hardly ideal preparation for a heavyweight clash with Manchester United and former manager Jose Mourinho, but Gudjohnsen remains confident that a man who impressed so much in his first year at the helm will get things right once more.
The former Blues forward told the Daily Mail: “When you're the manager of Chelsea, you are always under pressure as soon as things don't go smoothly as they would like.
“I think Conte showed last year that he is more than capable. I have no doubt he will get them back on track.”
Conte has shuffled his pack since conquering the Premier League, with tweaks made to his senior squad.
Diego Costa was unceremoniously frozen out of the team after being deemed surplus to requirements, with Alvaro Morata drafted in from Real Madrid.
Elsewhere, the likes of Tiemoue Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater were added to a midfield unit which lost Nemanja Matic to Manchester United.
The departure of Matic is considered to have been a major contributing factor to Chelsea’s struggle for form, but Gudjohnsen believes too much is being made of one sale.
He added: “It is a bit of a strange one.
“Whether it is as big of a deal as everyone is trying to make out, I don't know.
“Matic has obviously fitted in very well. When you look at a fully fit squad at United, you see a lot of big physical players on the pitch and he fits into that bill.”
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