LONDON -- Antonio Conte has pledged to celebrate with a cigar if Chelsea beat Arsenal to win the FA Cup on Saturday, despite the fact that he doesn't smoke.
The Blues can complete a double if they triumph at Wembley, having claimed the Premier League title at West Brom earlier this month with two matches of the campaign to spare. Celebrations at the Hawthorns were wild, with Diego Costa and David Luiz kidnapping Conte from his postmatch media duties in order to continue the revelry on the journey back to London.
Conte toasted journalists with champagne after Chelsea's final home match of the season against Sunderland, and says he is prepared to make an exception to his non-smoking lifestyle if he manages to emulate countryman Carlo Ancelotti by winning the Premier League and FA Cup in his first season in English football.
"We have another game to go," Conte said. "We have to finish this great season and make it a fantastic season. There's only one way to do that, by winning tomorrow and celebrating. To drink a bit of champagne. I don't smoke, but tomorrow I'm hoping to smoke a cigar if we win. I'm ready to do this."
Taking on Arsenal at Wembley will bring back memories of Conte's darkest day as Chelsea manager, a 3-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium in September. The result prompted owner Roman Abramovich to spend three days at Cobham discussing the team's struggles with his head coach as the Blues prepared to make a spectacularly successful switch to 3-4-3.
"He came for three days to watch our training sessions, to watch the video analysis, to stay with us," Conte said of Abramovich. "He supported me. He never showed me he was angry. I think the club always saw my job, during preseason and in that period, and trusted in my job. I never thought the club was thinking about sacking me. Honestly."
Conte has revealed this season that he struggles to sleep after defeats, and admitted that the loss to Arsenal stayed with him.
"For sure, after that defeat, it was very difficult not to see me angry," he added. "It was difficult for me to accept that defeat. That is my character. For two days, it's not easy to live with me. Also for my family, though they know me very well. They understand moments like that.
"My wife, my daughter, my parents and my brothers... for sure, after that bad defeat, I was angry. But I channelled my anger in the right way. I used my anger in the right way. I tried to change the situation.
"When you arrive at a new club like Chelsea and the level of expectation is so high, you have to be ready to face this moment [of difficulty]. I think, at this moment, you see the real value of the coach. In these moments you can appreciate the reaction of the coach, if the coach is able to understand the moment and find a solution to completely change the season.
"But, honestly, I was always very calm. I knew that I was putting all of myself, all my strength, into this new job. Myself and my staff were working so hard for the club and the players. Anything can happen in a season, but the most important thing is your soul, your heart, are calm."