Antonio Conte accepts Chelsea have some way to go to catch Tottenham ahead of Sunday's crunch Premier League clash.
Chelsea host Spurs at Stamford Bridge with a five-point gap to make up on their London rivals if the Blues are to qualify for the Champions League this season.
Although Conte led Chelsea to the Premier League title in his first season in charge the Blues have struggled this term, with the FA Cup their only remaining hope of silverware, and Conte accepts Spurs are now ahead of his side in their development.
"Yes, I think they have started before us," Conte said when asked if the Tottenham project is ahead of Chelsea's. "I am talking about my period, my era.
"For sure, now, they are ahead of us. But, despite this, last season we were able to win the title and reach the final of the FA Cup.
"This season, we want to try to repeat our achievement in reaching the final of the FA Cup."
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Mauricio Pochettino is yet to win a trophy despite his impressive work at Spurs and Conte highlighted how tough it is to come out on top in any of English football's major competitions.
"We are talking about a team who, in the last period for many years now, they are competing to win the title," Conte said. "Don't forget that, two years ago, they were very close to winning the title when Leicester won it.
"Last season they tried to compete with us. Don't forget that our final of the season was incredible. We won 10 games, otherwise Tottenham were ready to win it.
"I must be honest, I consider Mauricio Pochettino a really good manager. I think that, if Tottenham grew a lot in this period, he deserves a lot of credit for that. Don't forget that only one team can win the title and, in England, it's not simple.
"You start every competition with six teams, six top teams who are ready to win something during the season. For example, last season, Chelsea won the title, Manchester United won the EFL Cup, and Arsenal won the FA Cup.
"This season, probably Manchester City will win the title, but they dropped in the FA Cup. It's not simple.
"I think that every manager wants to win a trophy. I must be honest, if you want to win trophies, maybe for important managers, it's easier to go to another country. If you want to win easy trophies. In England, if you stay here, never, never will it be easy to win trophies."
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