The Blues’ squad has been heavily scrutinised in recent weeks, following a run of one draw and two defeats in the Premier League.
In particular, Conte’s back-line has attracted criticism, due to the poor performances of Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic, and David Luiz.
A switch to a three-man defence with wing-backs halted the rot against Hull City this weekend, as Chelsea won 2-0, but widespread speculation surrounding the next recruitment window has already begun.
The new manager, though, is intent on developing his players in the meantime.
As reported by Get West London, the Italian explained: “The present is now more important. January is a long way away.
“I don’t see an opportunity in January to spend money or change things.
“Now I see the present. I see in the present the opportunity to improve, and we must continue to change the story of last season.
“I repeat: last season it was very clear. I think that me and the players, none of us has forgotten this.”
In the summer transfer window, Conte completed deals for defensive duo Luiz and Marcos Alonso in deadline week, following the earlier arrivals of N’Golo Kante and Michy Batshuayi.
Kante has been the only ever-present of those new signings, with the French midfielder having also displayed a squad-high 91% pass accuracy.
Antonio Conte arrived in English football with a reputation as one of the more tactically astute coaches in the world game. Now, seven games into the campaign, the Italian is starting to show why such talk was deserved.
Consider the last outing; arresting a slump of one point from three games at a Hull side that have over-achieved to date following a summer of disarray is hardly one of the most impressive results of Conte’s career.
But it was the manner in which he achieved it that was more noteworthy as the Italian adopted a three-man defence and left out Branislav Ivanovic, for the first time since the Andre Villas-Boas era.
Conte also opted to hand Victor Moses his first league start for Chelsea in over three-and-a-half years as a right wing-back, a large tactical gamble but one which paid off as his team simply swamped and swept aside Hull in the second half, scoring counter-attack goals through Willian and Diego Costa.
Conte also had time to demonstrate that his reputation as a demanding disciplinarian is also well merited, responding to his team’s second goal by barking at his players to ensure they kept a clean sheet for just the second time this season.