‘But my main hobby now is to spend time with my family, my wife and my daughter, when they are here. For now they stay in Italy and every weekend they come here and stay with me. Always they come to games and when we play at home they sit behind me and I want this. I want to feel their support.’

At this time of year it’s a classic subject to raise with someone new to working in the English game. Christmas is fast approaching and that means only one thing – football, football and more football.

‘I am curious about this,’ Conte admits. ‘This is the first time my team will play during the Christmas and New Year and I am very keen to discover about this.

‘This Christmas I will be in England with all my family, not only my wife and daughter, but also my father and mother and my brothers together. For sure it will be a new Christmas for us.’

In this he will be following in the footsteps of other stars of the Italian game who joined Chelsea and enjoyed the festive football, not least two he knows very well – Gianluca Vialli and Gianfranco Zola.

‘With Gianluca I played a lot at Juventus and we won a lot. I remember him very well because he was my captain when we won the Champions League, and he was a fantastic player and is a fantastic man. He was very important for us because he was a real captain.

‘The captain must always be an example for his team-mates. If he plays or if he doesn’t play, he must always stay in the middle in the changing room as an example. He must help the coach, he must help the club and above all when the situation is not easy. It is important the coach and the club and also the players see the captain as the person that can help in this situation.’