We need time to click warns Sarri
MAURIZIO SARRI has warned Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich that it could take as long as two months for his squad to grasp his new ideas and methods of play.
Those problems, Sarri admits, could come in the form of bad results.
And the 59-year-old former Napoli coach, whose side open their Premier League campaign at Huddersfield today, believes it might not even be until the second half of the season that his team click into gear.
They are bold words for Chelsea’s new coach who has seen two of his predecessors, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Andre Villas-Boas, sacked after failing in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat after only eight and nine months respectively.
Abramovich patience.
But Sarri pointed to his late appointment and a chaotic pre-season as legitimate reasons why he should be given time to get things right.
“We are not at the top of our potential,” he said. “I hope to be at the top of the potential of the squad in one or two months but I don’t know.
“I hope that the second part of the season will be very good with a lot of points. In the first part I expect some problems on the results.
“Maybe the performances in the first part of the season will not be in line with the potential of the squad. The board know this.
“Next year I will try and change pre-season completely if I can. I arrived in the middle of July, so the problem was there. I had to accept it completely but for the future, it would be better to change.”
Sarri is expected to give £71.6million world-record goalkeeping signing Kepa Arrizabalaga his debut at the John Smith’s Stadium today, but his other new capture this week, Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic, is likely to have to wait.
The Italian manager’s style of quick-passing, high-pressure football became known as ‘Sarri-ball’ at Napoli, where he led the club to two second-place finishes in Serie A in three years. For that, though, the Chelsea fans are going to have to be patient.
Sarri said: “You have to wait for a couple of months. I don’t know is not known for his exactly what Sarri-ball definition. “At Napoli we played at great speed, moving the ball forward and back with continuity. It was fun for the supporters and useful for results. “We got 91 points last season. In 23 of the last 25 Serie A seasons, that was enough to win the championship. So it was a bit unlucky. “I don’t know if we can play the same way in England. It depends on the characteristics of the Premier League and my players. I have to adapt myself.” Scoring goals was a problem for Chelsea last year – they scored only 62, the fewest in the top six – and Chelsea netted only three in five warm-up games this summer. is. It’s not my Sarri admitted: “The offensive phase may be a problem. We have to play at another speed. If we are able to do that, scoring will not be a problem. But at this speed it may be.”
Huddersfield have spent about £40m on players this summer – breaking their transfer record by paying £16m to make defender Terence Kongolo’s loan move from Monaco permanent – and received another boost yesterday when German central defender Christopher Schindler signed a new contract until 2021.
Head coach David Wagner believes his players are fighting the odds again but that they can do it.
He said: “If money is the only thing that decides things, then we will be in the bottom three – but we were not in the bottom three last season. Success for us will be a third successive season in the Premier
League.”