Antonio Conte says it is “impossible” for Chelsea to win the Premier League title this season following defeat to West Ham.
The Blues fell to a 1-0 loss at London Stadium without ever really looking like scoring despite dominating possession.
The defeat leaves Chelsea 11 points behind runaway leaders Manchester City, who have a game in hand, and Conte believes it is too much to make up.
“We have to consider that this is the fourth game that we have lost after 16 games,” Conte told Sky Sports.
“When you lose four games, in my previous experience, it tells me that’s it’s impossible to stay and fight for the title.
“In 16 games, to lose four games, it means the target must be another.”
On the game itself, Conte insisted that his side’s tough schedule was behind the lacklustre performance.
“When you lose a game you must be disappointed. It is normal.
“I think today I saw the same game against Manchester City – West Ham. Our start was bad but today we played a bit tired.
“To face one game every two games always with the same players is very difficult. And we have just started this period.
“You have to move the ball quickly. But I repeat, we saw today a bit of tiredness in my players, especially in the last pass, we did a lot of mistakes.
“We must be disappointed. I repeat, we create many chances but were not able to score. We have to go and to play game by game, to be focussed.
“Don’t forget in this league it is very difficult. There are six top teams and four go to Champions League. We have to fight and do our best.”
