Conte to stop his touchline antics

ANTONIO CONTE is ready to stop his touchline antics — for the good of his health.

The Chelsea manager’s theatrics in the technical area wound up opposition bosses but were loved by fans when he dived into the Stamford Bridge crowd. But that could now be a thing of the past as he intends to curb his ways this season.

He revealed he LOST WEIGHT after his energetic orders to his title-winning squad and says he will now be calmer when he watches his team.

In his first campaign in the Premier League Conte went toe-to-toe with Jose Mourinho.

Manchester United’s former Blues boss got the hump after Conte whipped up the crowd during the 4-0 humiliation of the Red Devils in October.

The exuberant Italian was right up there with Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp as the boss who fired himself up into a touchline tizz whenever his side chased glory.

Conte celebrates his 48th birthday on Monday and wants to be cooler when it comes to giving his lads orders.

He said: “During the game I try to stay together with my players in the positive and negative situations. “I know in the future it will be very difficult to continue this because to stay on the touchline and have this passion, you must have a lot of strength.

“I finish the game and I’m destroyed. I lose between 4-6lb during the game.

“In the future my strength will be less and then maybe I will try to keep myself calm and more seated.”

But Conte admits he will never lose his passion, even if he does tone it down on the sidelines. And he claims the excitement all stems from his limited talent as a player and having to fight to progress in his career. He said: “If you saw me as a footballer, when I played I always showed a great passion. You saw Antonio Conte during the game showing passion.

“The will to fight, to overcome difficult situations with a run, with heart.

“When the technique doesn’t arrive at the best level, you must arrive with your heart, with your head, with enthusiasm, with passion, with work.

“I transferred this to my coaching but with more talent than I had as a player.” As a player with Juventus Conte won five Italian titles and the Champions League in 1996. He also played for his country in the 1994 World Cup.

He added: “I always thought this from when I started my career.

“My talent as a footballer was medium but I had heart, a will to win, to work to overcome my limitations. I knew very well it was going to be difficult for me to become a top player but I always stayed at a good level.

“To be captain and win a lot at Juventus, to play for 20 years, to play in the World Cup, European Cup, I had a good career, no?

“I was a good player. I tried to transfer all my passion in my work.”

From The Sun