Rio Ferdinand: 'Antonio Conte has easier job than Jose Mourinho'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 08 December 2016

Ferdinand: 'Conte has easier job than Mourinho'

Rio Ferdinand believes that Jose Mourinho was always destined to have a tougher job on his hands at Old Trafford when compared to Antonio Conte at Chelsea.

Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Antonio Conte has an easier job at Chelsea than Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, due to the continuity in place at Stamford Bridge.

Conte has worked wonders since taking over in the summer, guiding the Blues to the top of the Premier League table after tinkering with his formation a couple of months in.

The former Italy chief's work to date has earned him plenty of praise, which is in stark contrast to Mourinho - the man he succeeded in West London - as he has so far struggled to get the best out of his star players at Old Trafford.

Ferdinand insists that context is needed when comparing the two managers' achievements thus far, however, with Conte making little change when being formally appointed in the summer, while Mourinho brought in a number of new faces to form the spine of his preferred starting lineup.

"I just think Conte was starting with a better group of players; a team who had more cohesion and players who had the potential to be more of a team. And we are seeing that now," he told ESPN.

"The year before (2014-15), they were champions. The last season gone, they didn't perform well at all. The players that made them champions, [Eden] Hazard and [Diego] Costa, didn't perform. This season they are performing, within a structure, and they're top of the league."

Chelsea are 13 points clear of United in the Premier League table, with 14 games of the season now played.