Antonio
Conte has a "hard job on his hands" at Chelsea next season, and the club
will be far less attractive to players without Champions League football,
says Graeme Souness.
Conte was named as Blues manager from next season on Monday, replacing
interim Guus Hiddink was sacked in May.
Chelsea's form has improved since Jose Mourinho's departure, but the
champions still sit 10 points off fourth place with just seven games
remaining.
Conte is currently building towards Italy's Euro 2016 campaign in France,
but Souness says the to-do list at Stamford Bridge will not be easy to tick
off.
Souness told Sky Sports: "I think he's got a monster job on now, Chelsea
this year have been disappointing to say the least.
"They started as champions and never really got going. When Guus Hiddink
come in you thought all their problems would be solved but they weren't.
They've been up and down all season, even with the lift a new manager gives
you.
"I think Jose saw the writing on the wall, he knew he had been lucky to win
the league last year, he must have driven them, cajoled them, bullied them,
to get to that point to win it, and at the start of the season he wanted
more players and better players, and for some reason he didn't get them.
"That must have been the reason he fell out with whoever he ended up falling
out with, and that would include the players. Looking back, Jose was right,
because that group were not good enough to go and retain the title this
year.
"Conte coming in, unless he can go out and buy some real quality, it will be
another up and down season for Chelsea."
Chelsea won the league by eight points from Manchester City last season, but
spent less in the summer of 2015 than they had the previous five seasons.
Souness believes Conte will need substantial backing to improve the Chelsea
side, but their potential absence from Europe's elite club competition for
the first time since 2002 will have a major impact.
"That's the dilemma [no Champions League], the attraction of Chelsea in
recent years can be put to two main reasons, the wages plus the attraction
of the Champions League. So there is no quick fix to Chelsea.
"He's a different voice, has different thoughts. Does he have a magic wand?
No coach has a magic wand, it's all about players.
"He has a hard job on his hands, so will need a lot of support from the
owner, will have to buy well, and then Chelsea will be challenging again.
"They've still got the nucleus of a really good team, but the fact they
really couldn't get going again when they replaced the so-called 'problem'
with Jose falling out with people, they didn't really go on from there."
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