William Gallas says why Chelsea's defensive record will NEVER be beaten

William Gallas believes Chelsea's record of the fewest goals conceded in a Premier League season will "never" be beaten.

Chelsea beat Arsenal's old record of 17 goals conceded in a season, set in 1999 when they actually came second to Manchester United in the Premier League, conceding a miserly 15 goals in 2004/05.

The big-spending Blues had appointed Jose Mourinho in the summer, with the Portuguese immediately making the Stamford Bridge outfit one of the world's most formidable opponents.

Gallas was a key part of the back line typically deployed at left-back but deputising for the injured Ricardo Carvalho alongside John Terry when needed.

Arsenal were well on track to beat Chelsea's record having allowed just three goals in their first 10 games this season but the 3-2 defeat to Manchester United saw the concede their 16th goal of the campaign, with Gallas relieved the record will remain safe for another year.

Asked if he thinks if the record will one day be broken, Gallas told bet365: "Never. I think some former Chelsea players, were potentially a little bit worried with Arsenal this season because they look very strong, but when they conceded the 16th goal we kept the record for another year. Arsenal have such a strong defence, but I think with modern football and the way the game has changed, I don’t think any club is going to beat that record.

Asked what set that Chelsea team apart, Gallas added: "We had the discipline, because for Mourinho, what was very important for him was to not see his team concede goals on stupid things, I mean free-kicks, corners, so we had a lot of pressure before the game started because Jose was very strict with us.

"We had to be disciplined, as Mourinho never wanted us to concede cheap goals, particularly from free-kicks and corners, so we had a lot of pressure before the game from him. He was strict with us, and it was a type of manager who would let you know when you made a mistake, and as we know all the players have egos. Nobody wanted to see the coach get frustrated with us. So that was one type of the pressure he put on us.

"I remember during all the corners and free kick, when I was to mark my man, I was very very close to the striker and I didn’t want him to score because I knew straight away Jose is going to say something!

"So that was one type of the pressure he put on us. I remember during all the corners and free-kicks, when I was to mark my man, I was very, very close to opponent and I didn’t want the team to score because I knew straight away Jose is going to say something!

"I think in football now, players are maybe more prone to making mistakes, which is why I don’t think the record will be beaten.

"When I think about it, I realise how incredible it is. [Conceding] 15 goals in 38 games is amazing, because we got the Premier League but at the same time we were playing so many competitions so we could have been tired, but we were so strong. When I think about it, it was incredible and we should be proud of what we did and we won the Premier League at the same time. I’m proud.