Antonio Conte had done a sterling job in fudging his responses to questions about his team’s role in the title race but there was the merest hint of a mask slipping when it was put to him that Sir Alex Ferguson, quoted last week, had not included Chelsea in his five-strong list of Premier League contenders.

“I respect a lot what he said but I know that we are working very well,” Conte responded. “I think we are now in a good way to improve a lot and to become a team that can stay until the end to get something.”

The sentiment was hardly earth-shattering but nor, now, is the notion that Ferguson could have made his quintet a half-dozen. That would have appeared the product of an overactive imagination five weeks ago, when Arsenal inflicted upon Chelsea the force of lesson that made it tempting to chalk this season off as one of transition from last year’s despondent troupe, but their acceleration since has been startling and the verve with which they disposed of Manchester United at Stamford Bridge suggested a few festering inhibitions have been shed.

Should Chelsea defeat Southampton, themselves fluent under Claude Puel, at St Mary’s on Sunday any claim that they are in it for the long haul will begin to look persuasive. For one thing, it would suggest some genuine momentum. Their nine league matches to date can be divided neatly into bunches of three: a run of early wins, a significant stutter in the middle and then the most recent streak, in which the victories have grown more convincing in margin – by two at Hull, three over Leicester and four against Manchester United – and conviction. Four on the trot, a feat last achieved in the spring of 2015, would be harder to ignore.

The turnaround coincides precisely with Conte’s switch to a 3-4-3 formation, one he deployed at the beginning of his time in charge at Juventus and also toyed with as Italy coach before the European Championship. It was not an obvious fit for Chelsea’s personnel even if it seemed a natural direction of travel for their manager, but the early signs have been eyecatching and Conte is clear his side should proceed with the system.

The mobility and covering of César Azpilicueta in the back three have complemented Gary Cahill and a so-far disciplined David Luiz, whose maverick instincts have largely been curbed as the central member of the defence. Ahead of them, N’Golo Kanté’s energy appears to be helping Nemanja Matic return to something approaching his best form and perhaps the biggest surprise is that Victor Moses, used at right-wing-back in this shape, has looked a natural in the role with Azpilicueta offering advice behind him.

It is a setup that looks at once fluid and secure, and has also brought reactions from Eden Hazard and Pedro, who have benefited from being tasked with less backtracking. Adaptability is crucial to Conte and he used Pedro’s substitute appearance in Wednesday night’s EFL Cup defeat at West Ham to trial the Spain international at left-wing-back, pronouncing the experiment useful for the future.

Of Chelsea’s title rivals – if we are to run with that conceit – perhaps only Manchester City are working towards comparable polyvalence. It is a significant change from the rigidity of José Mourinho’s later days and collateral damage is inevitable. The subject of John Terry, who had a tough night at the London Stadium on his return from injury, is invariably too close to the surface to be an elephant in the room but the awkward truth is that a regular place in Conte’s three-man defence for the club captain would compromise the flexibility and speed that have made a difference of late.

“[It will be] a difficult decision, but my decisions are always for the best of the team,” Conte said of any recall to Chelsea’s league lineup for Terry. “In the last three games, all the players I picked played very well. When I make a choice, I don’t see if a player is captain or vice-captain, it’s not important. It’s important to find the right solution and take the best decision for the team.”

A more accurate light may be shone on Conte’s decisions, and Chelsea’s current place in the pecking order, when they play Tottenham and Manchester City on successive weekends a month from now. Any positional unfamiliarity is more likely to be exposed by such opponents; by then, Conte will be closer to forming a concrete assessment of their prospects.

“It’s difficult now to say our target, because it’s early and we had difficulty against Arsenal and Liverpool – for this reason it’s important not to look at the table,” he said in response to one of those invitations to list his side among the possibles. “It’s important to understand that the type of work we’re doing now is to improve and become strong. I think after eight or 10 more games, I can tell our target.”

Perhaps Conte, placid to the point of understatement in his dealings with the media since his arrival, already has one in mind privately; regardless, the speed at which his revolution is unfolding could yet make Ferguson’s rather more public prediction seem naive indeed.