Conte: FA Cup win over Tottenham will not benefit Chelsea in title race

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte does not think the 4-2
FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham will be an
advantage in the race for the Premier League title.
Spurs have had the edge in recent weeks as they
closed the gap at the top of the table from 10 to
four points, but their confidence was dealt a major
blow on Saturday as they missed out on a place in
the FA Cup final.
Conte does not expect the weekend's result to
influence the title race, however, as he feels there is
a clear distinction between the two competitions.
"Honestly I don't know. I think, for us, it was
important this win, because you reach the final in
the FA Cup, a great competition, and for us it's
great to know that a week after we finish the
championship, we have to play a final in the FA
Cup," Conte said at a news conference.
"It's a great achievement for us but if you ask me if
this win over Spurs means more - I don't think so.
"These are two different competitions and we have
six games to go and it's important to start this
rush very well to try to keep this four points [lead]."
Chelsea will be looking to take another step
towards the title when they take on Southampton
on Tuesday and Conte predicts another tough test.
"It's important to win for us and to look at
ourselves," he added. "This is the most important
thing.
"We all know that it won't be easy because
Southampton is a really good team, with a good
coach and good players. We know this.
"I have in my mind the starting 11 but Tuesday I
want to check the physical condition of every
player because our game [against Tottenham] was
an intense game and we're still [low on] energy.
"But I think we train very well this season and we
have a lot of energy to face the type of situation."