Kevin Kilbane on Conte, Evra & Wes Hoolahan

It looks like Chelsea have given Antonio Conte a vote of confidence and at the very least he’ll be leading them into Monday night’s game against West Brom but I feel like they’re just delaying the inevitable.

When Conte was giving signals last week that he needed some sort of reassurance from the board it seems irrelevant because when you’re seeking that kind of support, there is a real sense of inevitability about it.

Chelsea were dreadful against Watford even before Bakayoko was sent off and they were being carved open by the Hornets.

The warning signs have been there, even towards the end of their title-winning season last year and people were talking about their transfer policy going into the window. There is a real clash between the Italian, the directors and the owner. Whatever it is, it will need to be rectified if Conte is going to stay but I don’t think he’ll be Chelsea boss going into next season. Given how Chelsea have operated in the last 10-15 years, they’ll move him along before May and appoint an interim manager.

Evra a no-brainer
On the other side of London, West Ham bringing in Patrice Evra is a good move for them. I know the Frenchman had an excellent relationship with David Moyes when he was at Manchester United. From what I know of Evra, he seems like a great professional and is brilliant with the younger players.

I wonder will our own Declan Rice learn something from a player who has won so much at the top level.

Evra probably won’t play every week but I think it’s a no-brainer given his experience and his character. It’ll be a big boost for the dressing room and he’ll help West Ham in their fight for survival.

Wes was a great servant
Wes Hoolahan’s international retirement is tinged with a sense of disappointment, not with Wes himself, but because we would have liked to have seen him a lot more and perhaps at a younger age. It just wasn’t to be that way and the way I look at it is that players develop at different stages and..

..he wasn’t excelling (albeit standing out in the League Of Ireland) in the lower leagues in England and Scotland before he broke through with Norwich.

Once he had come through we all recognised the talent and quality he had. He did end up with over 40 caps and that’s a brilliant total but with his ability he probably should have ended up with double the amount.