Giroud urges Chelsea to ‘stick together’

Olivier Giroud has urged Chelsea to “stick together” as the pressure mounts on manager Maurizio Sarri.

Giroud is refusing to write off Chelsea’s season ahead of tonight’s FA Cup tie with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge and a potentially pivotal two weeks for the club.

Sarri is under scrutiny after the 6-0 battering at Manchester City last week, while his methods and training regime are understood to be an issue with certain Chelsea players.

An exit from the FA Cup to United would only turn up the heat on the Italian, who is also preparing for the Carabao Cup final against City and a Premier League meeting with Tottenham Hotspur.

Giroud helped ease the pressure on Sarri with the winner over Malmo in the Europa League on Thursday, and the France striker insists now is not the time to panic.

“I have had to deal with pressure all throughout my career. I played big games with my clubs and the national team. In these kinds of moments you need to stick together and think collectively with togetherness, and be positive,” he said.

“We are not in the best position, but we have big games to come. We want to qualify in every competition, so United is going to be a massive game. We need momentum, so we are looking forward to it.

“We are not worried about the situation and I am sure Manchester United will drop points [in the league]. We are confident and we want to carry on with a good spirit and humility.”

With his goal in Sweden, Giroud became the first Chelsea player to score in four successive games in Europe since Victor Moses in May 2013, but is likely to be among the substitutes against United.

Sarri’s recent criticisms of Chelsea’s players have been strong, but Giroud says there are no issues with the manager. “It is the case that there’s criticism of the coach, but I haven’t felt anything,” he said. “We stick altogether, the staff and the team.”