Chelsea coach Antonio Conte does not fear Eden Hazard-led exodus of stars without Champions League football

Antonio Conte has dismissed the suggestion that Chelsea could lose star players such as Eden Hazard should the club fail to secure Champions League football for next season.

Chelsea's recent inconsistent form in the Premier League has resulted in the champions falling into fifth place in the standings, four points off fourth-placed Liverpool.

Their next two games following the international break are against London rivals Tottenham and West Ham - both at home - with Chelsea then having another six games to ensure they do not miss out on Champions League football as they did in the 2015-16 season.

In that campaign Chelsea - who, like this season, were reigning Premier League champions - finished in 10th place but managed to hold onto key players such as Hazard.

The Belgian's future at Stamford Bridge has been regularly talked about despite the fact his current contract at Chelsea expires in 2020.

But Conte doesn't think Hazard nor Chelsea's other stars will want to leave the club this summer should the Blues fail to secure a spot in Europe's premier competition.

"Don’t forget two years ago Chelsea finished 10th with many players of this season...they decided to continue to play for this club," Conte told reporters at Cobham on Friday.

"Many players they were here when we finished 10th. This is not a question for me, it is a question for the players."

Chelsea have had a patchy defence to their title this season, losing eight games, drawing five and winning 17 to trail league leaders Manchester City by 25 points.

One factor that contributed to Chelsea's success last season when they won the Premier League title was their lack of involvement in the Champions League.

And Conte admitted that both he and the players must share the responsibility for failing to defend their Premier League crown this season as they shared the responsibility when they won the title last term.

"For the result of our team … like last season when we won the title and reached the final of the FA Cup … we must be ready to share responsibility with the club, the players and with me," he said.

While the futures of some Chelsea players, for example Thibaut Courtois, remains a topic of discussion Conte admitted he is unsure whether a failure to play in the Champions League next term will negatively affect the club in attracting the best players this summer.

He added: "I don’t know [if it's harder to attract top-quality players].

"If you remember last season we won the title. I don’t know if it’s a problem to attract a great player or not. Last season we won the title. You can see our transfer market. Last season we won."