Conte likes to work his men hard but some are feeling the strain

Chelsea’s players are unhappy with the intensity of Antonio Conte’s training schedule, and have concerns that the high workload is hampering their title defence and exacerbating the club’s injury problems.

Chelsea have lost their past two Premier League matches to fall nine points behind the leaders Manchester City, and could be without four key players for tomorrow’s match against Watford, who are fourth — one place and two points ahead of the defending champions.

The Times has learnt that the Chelsea first-team head coach has stuck largely to the same training schedule that brought the club success last season, with an emphasis on physically demanding sessions, lots of tactical meetings and very few days off. This is despite Chelsea having the additional demands of European