SARRI FACES THE FINAL RECKONING
It should be a time of real excitement at Chelsea – instead the boss looks doomed, with Lampard waiting in the wings ahead of Europa showpiece
MAURIZIO SARRI did little to change the mood surrounding the build-up to his first European final.
What should be the biggest game of Sarri’s managerial career has actually turned into the long goodbye for yet another Chelsea manager.
Just 24 hours after the Blues paid £9million to Antonio Conte, after making him the ninth manager sacked during the Roman Abramovich reign, Sarri appears to be following his predecessor out of the door.
Sarri, 60, insists he wants to stay, his future will be decided after the Europa League final against Arsenal and he is determined to see out the remaining two years of his contract.
But the Italian’s words rang hollow with an all too familiar story of yet another Chelsea manager on the brink, even though he has led them back into the Champions League amid difficult circumstances.
There is a two-window transfer ban looming, Chelsea look set to lose their star player Eden Hazard to Real Madrid this summer, and the fans have never warmed to the manager and his “Sarriball” tactics. In the background, there is uncertainty with Chelsea already sizing up the prospect of bringing back Frank Lampard, their legendary former player, to take charge next season after the ex-England midfielder’s impressive first term in management at Derby.
Sarri did little to clear up the mess and, while Arsenal’s media day was upbeat and full of expectation on Tuesday, there was a sense of negativity around the Blues boss, especially when asked for an opinion about his future and the speculation.
“I don’t know the situation about the fans and the media,” said Sarri. “Probably, one is a consequence of the other. I don’t know what to say or to do.
I can only work. I can only try and improve my team.
“I can only try to play better, to win more matches. I don’t know what to do more. My opinion about the season you know very well. We had a very good season. Of course, we have to do more.
“We need to improve. I don’t know what to say about the market. My future is the final.
“I am not able in this moment to think about next season or more. I am only able to think about the final because my feeling is, for our group, this final is really very important.
“Chelsea are one of the most important clubs in the Premier League. So, I’m really very happy. But we have to discuss the situation. But it’s normal. In every season, you have to discuss the situation with the club. You do it like this.”
It is the disconnect with the fans which is the biggest concern among the Stamford Bridge hierarchy.
Abramovich’s presence is not felt at Chelsea, but the word fed back to the Russian billionaire owner will be worrying. Sarri does not pay lip service and refuses to bow down to the fans. They can either like it or lump it.
But it is strange they have not taken to him because he tries to play good football, has taken the Blues to third place in the Premier League, and booked a place in Baku.
And at least Sarri yesterday publicly offered his support for supporters in the farcical situation with Baku, as Chelsea will not even sell half their 6,000 allocation of tickets for the final.
The former Napoli manager added: “It’s a big problem for our fans, so I think it would have been better to play it in another location. “There is no difference because, probably, the situation will be the same for both teams.
“But it would be better to play with 30,000 fans of Chelsea and 30,000 fans of Arsenal. You do this job for this match. For these matches. So it’s better for everybody to have the fans with the team.
“But we want to win a trophy. The final is very important for us. We aren’t playing for the Champions League, but we feel we deserve to win a trophy.”