As a natural introvert who manages to run out in front of ten of thousands of fans, plus millions watching on screen, and perform at a world-class level, N’Golo Kante is clearly well versed in blocking out distractions and concentrating on his football.
Therefore, at times like this, it is an ability he is putting to good use as he aims to play his part in Chelsea finishing the season strongly, starting today at Turf Moor where we take on Burnley.With the club prominent in the headlines with a change of ownership on the cards, Kante has been asked about that and about the continuing quest to ensure we finish in one of the top-four places in the Premier League.‘It is something we were not prepared for,’ the midfielder admitted about the news Roman Abramovich has chosen to sell Chelsea.
‘It came quick but the only thing we can do, because we don’t control these things, is to do at our best what we have always done. It means playing football at our best - for us, for the club, for the fans and see how the things are going. It is the only thing that we control and we want to do that.‘We are in the last stage of the season, most of the games have passed,’ he noted. ‘We are in a good position for the top four.‘We have full focus on playing game by game and we want to secure top four. It is not going to be easy. We need to win many games but we train hard for that and we hope to begin that by winning this weekend.’Kante pointed to Chelsea’s good record at Burnley, with six of our seven Premier League visits there ending in wins, all but one of those games coming since he joined the club.‘But we know when we go there they are a strong team, strong at home,’ he warned, ‘but we look forward to going there to try to win.’
The 30-year-old also talked about dealing with the pressure in general, and how he stays grounded.‘What I like to do is to do my job, to play football, to have the right atmosphere with my team-mates, to try to have success together. This is the way I want to play football. I think the pressure is outside really but as a footballer, I keep my way to work and to do things, to keep looking for more success in the future.’He was asked if he sees that future being at Chelsea.‘Yes, I think, since I came here I spent many great seasons with much success with the team and the manager and the players and the fans, and I hope we can carry on like this - keep winning and keep celebrating many great achievements, and it is the way I see the future.’