LONDON -- Antonio Conte insisted that he is "very angry" about Chelsea's struggles this season and added that he is still giving everything to try to turn the club's worsening fortunes around.
Chelsea have won just six of 19 matches across all competitions in 2018 and have fallen to fifth in the Premier League, eight points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham with only seven games to play, leaving their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League all but over.
Last weekend Gianluca Vialli claimed that long-time friend and former Juventus teammate Conte "can't wait to leave Chelsea" at the end of the season, a comment that added further fuel to the growing perception among supporters that the Italian is already thinking about his next job.
But speaking in a news conference on Friday, Conte was adamant that this is not the case. "Those who know me very well, know that in this moment I am very angry," he said. "I am very sad for this situation.
"Those who know me very well know I am trying to put all of myself to change this situation because I have great responsibility. I feel great responsibility for my work, for my family, for everything.
"When I go to my house, it is not that I am relaxed but I know that I gave everything and I am giving everything for this club -- 120 percent, every day. Sometimes it is very difficult to sleep with these types of problems."
Vialli's words intensified the speculation that has raged over Conte's future since last summer, when the Italian first became frustrated by Chelsea's combination of inability and unwillingness to sign his preferred targets in the transfer market.
Conte, however, clarified that he will not hold a grudge against Vialli.
"With Gianluca, we played together for many years at Juventus, he was my captain, we won the Champions League together and I consider him a friend," he added.
"All of my former teammates, I consider them friends. With Gianluca we went once to dinner last season and then I stopped [speaking to him].
"Sometimes it's very difficult to understand why [these comments are made], but I understand because he is now a journalist and he has to give news to Sky and to try to speak about my situation.
"I can be disappointed on one side, but I respect him because he is a journalist, and he is doing his job. He is trying to give his opinion. It is not my opinion."
Conte also reiterated his desire to see out the final year of his Chelsea contract, despite the fact that he is widely expected to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.
"The people who stay very close to me they know very well my intentions -- to stay, to stay here, to continue my job here," he insisted.
"This is the truth. You will see."