GAUGE Calm Sarri’s seen worse
MAURIZIO SARRI insists the pressure he has been under at Chelsea of late does not compare with the stress of managing Napoli or some of the smaller clubs in Italy.
The Italian, 60, has faced intense scrutiny at Stamford Bridge and went into last weekend’s Carabao Cup Final knowing another thumping by Manchester City would likely cost him his job.
Chelsea were actually much improved at Wembley and Pep Guardiola’s men needed penalties to beat them.
But goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s refusal to be substituted in extra-time plunged Sarri deeper into crisis.
Despite all the issues he has faced at Chelsea, though, Sarri still claims the pressure on him in South West London is less than it has been before.
And he reckons he got more stressed in his last job, at Napoli, and during the days he was starting out as a coach while working as a banker.
Back then, Sarri had less experience to fall back on and the pressure he would put on himself to get a result was greater than the pressure the media puts on him at Chelsea.
Sarri said: “Napoli is not a who are fit to play for Manchester United, players who play on the front foot, players who are brave.
“There’s a DNA that should be going through a player who goes to Man United.
“I’ve seen players who have arrived in previous seasons who don’t fit that DNA.
“Hunger needs to be brought into that squad. I look at the squads I was in and there were hungry people in there.
“Forget abilities sometimes. Are you hungry enough? Have you got a desire to come in and improve yourself and try to improve this team?
“So if United do get a sporting director, they have to all be on the same page.
“Because if it’s a sporting director small club and in Naples the pressure was a lot higher than it is here.
“And, of course, there were times in my early career when I was learning as a coach that my pressure was very high.
“I felt big pressure in Serie C and very little sometimes in the Champions League.
“Pressure is inside you. You can feel big pressure for a match in Serie B or the Championship, and less pressure in a match in the Champions League.
“It’s not the importance the media puts on a match that brings the pressure, it’s what’s inside the coach and the players.”
Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham meant Sarri was able to prepare for today’s clash with Fulham away from the spotlight as well as helping Chelsea close the gap on Spurs in the race for the top four.
Sarri added: “This was a very good week for us. “We drew against City, which was a really important game for our confidence.
“We had some problems before the last week, but buying players that Ole isn’t fancying or into, it doesn’t work.”
Ferdinand knows United’s DNA courses through Solskjaer’s veins and he is certain he is the man to replace Jose Mourinho full time.
He said: “Ed Woodward can’t do anything else but take him on. He has forced Ed’s hand.
“When Ole signed, I wasn’t saying, ‘This is the best signing we’ve got, brilliant, I’m delighted with this’. But I wasn’t saying, ‘He’s rubbish’ either.
“But he has exceeded everyone’s expectations and has made it nigh on impossible for anyone to say, ‘No’.
“He has changed the whole perception of the football club – it feels like Manchester United again.” in the last week we did very well. I expected the Champions League places to be tight and I hope Tottenham will be involved, of course.
“In that case, there are two spots for four teams and it’s much better than one for three. “Now I can understand very well that, in England, it’s very difficult to be in the top four.
“The Premier League is really very competitive and very hard.
“Not only the Premier League, because you have to play in the FA Cup, the League Cup, and every match is really very difficult.
“If you think that, in the League Cup, we played against Liverpool, twice against Tottenham, the final against Manchester City, it seems like a Champions League in its own right.
“If you won against Liverpool, if you won against Tottenham, you can go into the final of the Champions League.
“So every match is very difficult and mentally very expensive.
“In England, the season is really very difficult.” Dec 2018: Chelsea 2 Fulham 0 Mar 2014: Fulham 1 Chelsea 3 Sep 2013: Chelsea 2 Fulham 0 Apr 2013: Fulham 0 Chelsea 3 Nov 2012: Chelsea 0 Fulham 0
Fulham – 9 wins Chelsea – 46 wins Draws – 26