Rudiger tired of Sarri classroom
DEFENDER SLAMS COACH’S METHODS
CHELSEA defender Antonio Rudiger has described life under beleaguered boss Maurizio Sarri as a return to the classroom and conceded players can become mentally tired.
The picture of an increasingly fractured dressing room was underlined when Rudiger was asked whether Sarri’s habit of asking players to train on the morning of games was having a negative impact.
The 25-year- old German said: ‘Fatigue, no, because it’s not like we are doing box-to-box runs. It’s not physical. It’s the tactical things he likes to do. That’s his way, he’s carrying on. It’s new for the majority of the players but we have to adapt to it.’
Asked if it becomes mentally tiring, Rudiger said: ‘It’s the same if you sit in the school the whole time listening to someone. Of course, sometimes, it gets mental, but at the end of the day you have to do your job.’
Rudiger also conceded confidence is low, adding: ‘ We are always working in training, trying to do better each day. I think, right now, it’s about confidence. It’s not a tactical aspect, in my view. It’s confidence. We are underperforming.’
Rudiger believes that the the moment of reckoning will come in the next two games, against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday and Tottenham in the Premier League the following Wednesday.
He said: ‘On Sunday, a big game against City at Wembley. That will show the truth. That will show our way this season. It will be the truth in terms of keeping up with opponents like City, and also Liverpool and Tottenham.’ Asked if the players retain faith in Sarri’s style of play, Rudiger said: ‘I’m not the coach, I’m a football player. This is something the coach has to decide and we have to follow.
‘ You always play for your manager, but you want results. You want to win. No player on earth likes to have the kind of run we have had.’
Sarri is clinging to the Chelsea job by his fingertips amid a dreadful run of form. Chelsea have suffered humiliating defeats at Arsenal, Bournemouth and City in the league of late, while they also crashed out of the FA Cup against Manchester United on Monday. Tonight in the Europa League they face the relatively straightforward task of finishing off Malmo at Stamford Bridge after winning the first leg in Sweden 2-1.
Sarri insisted he has not held talks in the past few days with owner Roman Abramovich or his most senior director Marina Granovskaia.
‘No, not this week,’ Sarri said. ‘I have to think that I will be the manager of Chelsea for a long time, otherwise I cannot work. I am not sure (it will work), but I have to think this. I want to work with a long-term target.’
Sarri also rejected supporters’ criticism of his predictable style of play and his decision against United to replace Cesar Azpilicueta with another defender, Davide Zappacosta, when his side trailed 2-0 and desperately needed goals.
Sarri said: ‘The system is a false problem. I know very well that when we are losing I have to put a striker on the pitch. When we are winning I have to put a defender on the pitch. But I want to see football in another way.’
Despite Sarri’s persistence, Chelsea are believed to be considering a change of manager and defeat against Malmo or City may be enough to sound the death knell on Sarri’s reign ahead of the crunch home game against Tottenham.
Chelsea are understood to have major reservations about Sarri’s assistant and club legend Gianfranco Zola, even as a shortterm fix, and Paulo Ferreira and Eddie Newton may be preferred in the event the Blues require a caretaker boss.
Sarri also faces a nervous wait before naming his team for the Carabao Cup final, as goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has a hamstring problem. Asked if the Spaniard will recover, Sarri said: ‘I’m not sure, but I hope so.’