Cape Town - Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has said that the club need to avoid "a Mourinho season" in the defence of their Premier League title.
The Blues slumped badly under Jose Mourinho after winning the title in 2015, picking up just 11 points from their first 12 games before Mourinho was sacked in December with the club in 16th position.
Gus Hiddink then came in as Chelsea finished in mid-table.
"Two years ago Chelsea finished 10th; that cannot happen again," Conte said.
"We know the difficulty and for sure we want to avoid the Mourinho season with Chelsea," Conte added.
"The coaches of the previous two champions [Chelsea and Leicester] both lost their jobs [the next season] and we are working very well to find the best solutions and use them," Conte said.
"We have a lot of young players and it is necessary to try and develop them."
The last team to successfully defend the Premier League title was Manchester United, who wrapped up a treble of wins in 2008-09.
Meanwhile, Conte blamed fatigue following Chelsea’s second loss in two games in Singapore, after the Blues lost 2-1 to Inter Milan on Saturday.
"We played against two strong teams in Bayern Munich and Inter Milan in a period that is very important as we are working very hard," said the Italian.
"To play three games with the same players means you finish and are tired. We are tired, very tired."