Soccer News

Maurizio Sarri says Chelsea need patience

Maurizio Sarri says Chelsea need patience. Sarri’s side lost 4-0 at Bournemouth on Wednesday, less than two weeks after he called his players hard to motivate following a defeat at Arsenal.

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri says patience will be needed if his vision for the club is to be fulfilled. The Italian said Premier League rivals Manchester City, Liverpool and Spurs offered a template for success.

“English football is in the hands of these teams because they had a plan and they were patient,” he said. “In one the coach arrived five years ago, in another three years ago and in the other two years ago.

“I want to remember that in the first season [Jurgen] Klopp and Liverpool were in the middle of the table. I am a dreamer; I want to play my football.”

Maurizio Sarri

‘I must involve players more’

The defeat at Bournemouth, which saw Chelsea drop out of the top four, was their worst league result in 22 years and led to a reportedly “angry” dressing room debrief between the former Napoli manager and his players.

It led to calls in some quarters for Sarri – in his first season at Chelsea – to adjust his favoured 4-3-3 system.

“Why? First of all, I want to do very well the plan A, I think,” said Sarri. “I don’t want to change something that, at the moment, doesn’t work very well.

“First of all, I want to see my football played very well, then we can go to change something.

“Everybody 10 years ago knew Barcelona very well, but Barcelona still won everything because they played their football very well.”

He said the Stamford Bridge job was “probably” more difficult than he anticipated and that it was hard to change the “mentality” of players who played a different style of football, and won trophies, under his predecessor Antonio Conte.

“I think my football is cooperation, so I have to speak to my players,” said Sarri. “I have to involve them in my football, more than we are doing at the moment.

“Probably we are doing something wrong, the staff and coach first of all. Probably I am not able to motivate them. I have to find the way.

“It’s a part of my job, of course. But I want first of all to change the mentality, so it’s a very long way.”

Chelsea host bottom team Huddersfield in the Premier League on Saturday and have an EFL Cup final against Manchester City on 24 February.

Source: BBC News