Conte focused on task at hand

Italy boss Antonio Conte insists he is not being distracted by his upcoming move to Chelsea as he prepares his team for this summer’s European Championship.

After a short spell in international management, the 46-year-old is now eager to return to club football. The former Juventus coach, who guided the Italian giants to three successive Serie A title from 2012 to 2014, will replace interim coach Guus Hiddink at Stamford Bridge ahead of next season.

The Blues have turned to Conte after a disappointing campaign but his immediate attention is on the Azzurri as they prepare to travel to France for the Euros.

After Italy’’s poor showing at the 2014 World Cup under Cesare Prandelli, Conte is now under pressure to deliver. Recent claims have suggested he is already discussing his Chelsea plans but the Italian insists his focus is on the European Championship.

“Anyone who knows me knows that I work on things one at a time, and I try to deal with them in the best way,” he told Eurosport. “The Euros is the end of a two-year journey. I want to tackle this tournament in the best way, knowing the difficulties which we didn’t expect to face.

“I always talk about work, we’ll try to work with our head down and try to do something great.” Italy will face Scotland and Finland in warm-up games before they prepare for their Group E matches.

They have been drawn against Republic of Ireland, Sweden and Belgium and they are available at odds of 17.00 to win the tournament.