Antonio Conte's first few months as Chelsea manager could hardly have gone any better as his side head into the holiday period six points clear at the Premier League summit.
The west London club face Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Monday seeking a 12th successive league victory, which would leave them two wins short of equalling Arsenal's all-time top-flight record.
After an inconsistent start, Conte has made his mark on the club and while he accepts the extent of Chelsea's recent success has been unexpected, he believes it is fully merited.
"If you ask me this before, I must be honest: it was a bit difficult to believe we would be top of the table at Christmas," said the Italian.
"But I think we are working very well and I'm very happy for the players. The players deserve this.
"But in my experience it's important to keep this position. You can keep it only through hard work, to face every game with great concentration and focus and will to fight."
The omens are good for Chelsea, who have won the Premier League title on the four occasions they have previously led the table on Christmas Day.
And it is a measure of the current optimistic mood at Stamford Bridge that Oscar's reported £60 million ($73.7 million) departure to Shanghai SIPG should cause little concern.
Chelsea will face Bournemouth without the suspended Diego Costa and N'Golo Kante, presenting Conte with his first major selection dilemma after a period in which his team has largely picked itself.
Conte must decide whether to hand Michy Batshuayi a first Premier League start following his £33 million move from Marseille in place of Costa.
The loss of Kante, meanwhile, will deprive the team of their most consistent midfielder during the recent wining run.
"For sure, Diego is an important player for us," said Conte.
"But these days we are working to find the right solution in the squad. I can have different solutions to replace him. I'm working on this."
- 'Running through brick walls' -
He added: "This is a good test for us because we play this game without two players who are very important for our team.
"This gives us the possibility to play some players who, until now, haven't played a lot. Or to find another solution."
Bournemouth's impressive recent progress was brought to an abrupt halt in a 3-1 home defeat by south-coast rivals Southampton last weekend.
"We've had time to reflect on Sunday's defeat as we always do," said manager Eddie Howe.
"We will try and come back a better team from it. We need to do better really and it's a good challenge for us this weekend.
"Kante and Costa will be missing, but I saw Cesc Fabregas come on against Crystal Palace and he was excellent, so it will be a very difficult game regardless of who plays."
In last season's fixture, a late winner from Glenn Murray secured an unexpected victory for Howe's side, but skipper Simon Francis says they will face a very different Chelsea this time around.
"In terms of personnel, they haven't changed their players too much, but they've changed their formation and seem to have a manager that they're running through brick walls for," he said.
"We were in need of a big away win last season and that came at Stamford Bridge.
"That did all sorts for our season and we had some huge ones after that as well. We'll be going there to win the game. We need some points away from home."
Winger Junior Stanislas and midfielder Andrew Surman could both be in contention for the trip to the capital.
Stanislas has not played since the beginning of the month because of ankle trouble, while Surman has been sidelined since October due to a hamstring injury.
AFP
Sun Dec 25 2016
CONTE: "If you ask me this before, I must be honest: it was a bit difficult to believe we would be top of the table at Christmas. But I think we are working very well and I'm very happy for the players." - Filepic
Insiden tembakan KLIA: Suspek dituduh di Mahkamah Kota Bharu hari ini
Suspek berusia 38 tahun itu akan dibawa ke Mahkamah Sepang selepas pertuduhan.
Nahas helikopter Lumut: Sultan Pahang titah masjid laksanakan solat jenazah ghaib
Al-Sultan Abdullah turut menzahirkan rasa sedih dan dukacita dengan tragedi itu yang mengorbankan 10 anggota TLDM.
Harimau Muda tutup kempen di Qatar tanpa sebarang kemenangan
Harimau Muda tamatkan kempen di tangga tercorot kumpulan tanpa sebarang mata susulan tewas 0-2 masing-masing di tangan Uzbekistan dan Vietnam dalam dua aksi pertama.
[LAPOR LANGSUNG] Negara berdukacita, nahas udara TLDM Lumut terburuk libatkan helikopter
Kedua-dua helikopter sedang menjalani raptai buat kali ketiga sempena sambutan Hari Terbuka Armada TLDM yang dijangka berlangsung Sabtu ini.
Qatar masih komited sebagai perantara dalam rundingan gencatan senjata di Gaza
Qatar masih komited untuk menjadi orang tengah antara Hamas dan Israel untuk mencapai satu gencatan senjata di Semenanjung Gaza.
Negara berdukacita, nahas udara TLDM Lumut terburuk libatkan helikopter
TLDM mengesahkan 10 anggotanya terkorban melibatkan tujuh kru Helikopter Operasi Maritim (HOM-AW139) dan tiga kru Fennec TLDM.
Nahas helikopter Lumut: 'Amirulfaris orang yang baik, orang baik selalu pergi dulu'
Mohamad Amirulfaris sangat menjaga kebajikan ibu bapanya dan seorang yang sangat peramah dengan saudara-mara.
200 hari menyerang Gaza, Israel rancang serang Rafah yang bakal memburukkan keadaan
Sejak Oktober tahun lepas, tentera Israel telah membunuh 34,183 warga Palestin dan mencederakan lebih 77,000 yang lain.
Nahas helikopter Lumut: Bapa reda pemergian anak 'tulang belakang' keluarga
Bapa kepada Pegawai Memerintah Skuadron 502 Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) Komander Mohamad Amir Mohamad, 44, menganggap pemergian anaknya itu yang merupakan tulang belakang keluarga, sebagai sat
HDC anjur Forum Kepimpinan Ekonomi Halal 2024 di Riyadh bulan ini
HDC akan menganjurkan HELF untuk meluaskan jejak globalnya, yang dibangunkan melalui pencapaian cemerlang Litar Persidangan Perniagaan Halal Dunia di London tahun lepas.
EPL: Manchester United hanya mampu seri lagi
Manchester United jatuh ke tangga ketujuh liga sambil berkongsi mata dengan Newcastle United di tangga ke keenam.
Liverpool tiada masalah tanpa Salah
Dua gol dijelmakan Diogo Jota dan Darwin Nunez membolehkan angkatan Jurgen Klopp melakar kemenangan ke-14 selepas mengharungi 21 perlawanan.
Piala EFL: Jurgen Klopp gembira Liverpool lolos walaupun perit
Jurgen Klopp memuji keinginan tinggi pemainnya selepas Liverpool menempah tempat ke suku akhir Piala Liga Inggeris (EFL).
EPL: Kompany terkilan rayuan penalti Burnley tidak diendahkan
Kompany lebih terkejut apabila bola yang terkena tangan Chris Mepham tidak disemak ketika permainan memasuki minit kelapan masa tambahan.
Justin Kluivert sertai Bournemouth dari Roma
Justin adalah pemain penyerang yang menarik dan serba boleh yang mempunyai sasaran untuk mendapatkan gol.
EPL: Pemain Leeds mohon maaf abaikan penyokong di hotel selepas tewas kepada Bournemouth
Barisan pemain Leeds United memohon maaf susulan kekalahan besar kepada Bournemouth dalam saingan EPL hujung minggu lalu.
EPL: Liverpool tersungkur di Bournemouth
Pengendali Liverpool Jurgen Klopp menyifatkan pemain The Reds tidak memanfaatkan deretan peluang dimiliki pelawat.
Arteta bangga kesungguhan Arsenal lengkapkan kebangkitan
Arteta bangga kesungguhan Arsenal lengkapkan kebangkitan
EPL: Gemilang Kai Havertz pastikan Chelsea tamat kemarau kemenangan
Keputusan itu juga menyaksikan Bournemouth tewas dua daripada dua perlawanan kompetitif di bawah bimbingan Garry O'Neill.
Tottenham bangkit lebih padu di Bournemouth
Skuad Antonio Conte hampir menyaksikan kekalahan ketiga berturut-turut dalam Liga Perdana Inggeris selepas dua gol Kieffer Moore.