Antonio Conte says managers ‘always have a bag packed’ and expects to have plenty of offers if he leaves Chelsea

Antonio Conte has appeared to warn Chelsea that he will get plenty of job offers should they get rid of him at the end of the season.

Conte gave a timely reminder of why he is one of the best coaches in the world by setting up his Chelsea side perfectly to face Barcelona in the Champions League last night.

Chelsea, who took the Liga leaders by surprise by playing without a recognised striker, were the better side for long periods and Conte was unfortunate to be rewarded with only a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their last 16 tie.

The Blues have been drawing up a list of possible candidates to replace the Italian in the summer, including former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique, despite his contract running until 2019.

Conte still claims he wants to see his deal out, but hinted that he won’t be out of work for long should Chelsea decide to sack him.

Speaking to Mediaset Premium after the game last night, he said: “In our line of work, we always have a bag packed.

“My intention is to remain here, but if something were to change, there would be several different scenarios opening up.

“In 14 years, Chelsea have changed coach 10 times, so they do have a tendency to chop and change here.

“It’s no problem for me, in fact I really like pressure. I just hope it doesn’t affect the players.

“I said very clearly, I have a contract to 2019. I intend to respect it. After that, anything can happen in football. I am happy at Chelsea, but both parties need to be happy.”

The Italian Football Federation have already confirmed they’d like him back as head coach, but AC Milan, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all believed to be monitoring Conte’s situation at Stamford Bridge.