West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Pardew has admitted that he has sympathy for opposite number Antonio Conte ahead of Monday night's meeting with out-of-form Chelsea.
Defeat for the defending Premier League champions at home to Albion could well spell the end for Conte, who has seen his side win just three of their 10 matches in 2018 and lose two on the spin - both by three-goal margins.
Pardew insists that the Blues boss has done little wrong, however, and thinks that tonight's opponents should stick with the man in charge regardless of disappointing recent results.
"I do feel sorry for the manager because the job he did last year was absolutely outstanding and I don't really think he's changed too much," Sky Sports News quotes him as saying. "Maybe the quality of the opposition has changed and maybe the players he's had available haven't been to the consistency he had when he won it.
"But you cannot fault his record and the job he's done since he came to the Premier League. Chelsea had great momentum last season and they played a system that everybody was trying to deal with.
"We've all had extra time as managers to work out how to stop them so there's been a little bit of that. He's had injuries, he hasn't got the momentum and momentum - that mystery word that we keep using as managers - is such an important thing for giving confidence to everybody."
Chelsea have lost just one of their last 10 Premier League games against West Brom.
Daniel Lewis
