SHOW US RESPECT
PLAYERS NOT GETTING THE CREDIT THEY DESERVE, SAYS CHELSEA COACH
CHELSEA deserve more credit for the way they have dominated the Premier League this season, according to Jose Mourinho’s No2, Steve Holland.
Mourinho’s side beat title challengers Manchester United 1-0 on Saturday to move 10 points clear at the top. They have led since the opening weekend and wins in their next t wo matches — against Arsenal and Leicester — will see them crowned champions for the first time since 2010.
Holland is mystified why the players are not getting many plaudits and said: “They haven’t had the credit they deserve as a group nationally this season in my opinion.
“We are in the middle of April and have lost just two matches in the Premier League. This League is tough. You’ve just seen what Leicester have done by getting three wins in a row. So to have gone eight months with only two defeats and been top for the whole season means the players deserve great credit for their consistency and mental qualities.”
Even though Chelsea are within touching distance of reclaiming the title, Holland insists no one is getting carried away.
Speaking to Chelsea TV, he added: “Whether we get there or not remains to be seen but the players won’t be complacent, that’s for sure. This group has the bit between their teeth.
“It’s almost a case of ticking the games off and I won’t dismiss anyone yet because it’s not done till it’s done. But Manchester City are not as close a threat as they were a while back.
“United were on a great run and if they had come to Chelsea and won, you could see them winning the remainder of their games. Then you’re very close to a team with not only outstanding players on the pitch but also the players that can come off the bench. They have a fantastic squad.
“Mentally to win the game was a massive lift for everybody in two respects. One it was a big scalp and second we picked up another three points and United got zero. It increases that gap.”
IF the Premier League simply came down to winning a popularit y contest, Chelsea would be nowhere near the top. That mysterious, unidentifiable group called the ‘neutrals’ will never rush to acclaim those who ply their trade at Stamford Bridge.
The reasons why are varied. Within the last week alone it has been revealed Chelsea have more discriminatory posts directed against them on social media than any other Premier League club, while official figures show they are the worst behaved team in the top flight when it comes to respecting referees.
Add the fact they are seen as the upstarts that gatecrashed the top table of English football courtesy of Roman Abramovich’s Russian oil money and have a manager who many supporters and considered observers of the game love to hate and you can begin to understand why they so few neutrals warm to them.
Yet such views and opinions have no influence on results. The only thing that counts is wins, draws, losses, goals for and against and, of course, the number of points to their name.
In that regard, Chelsea are way ahead of the opposition — 10 points to be exact and with a superior goal difference. More impressively, they have been top of the table since the very first weekend of the season.
That is why assistant manager Steve Holland’s complaints about the team not getting “the credit they deserve” should be met with some sympathy.
The tribalism and rivalry that exists in the game ensures Chelsea will never be loved, but their feats this term certainly demand respect.
They are on course not only to win their fourth Premier League title but with the second highest-ever points haul. Six more victories will take their tally to 94, just one fewer than the record they set in Mourinho’s first season at the club, in 2004-05.
Some will justifiably argue that they should be challenging for the title given the vast amount of money spent on players. But unlike a decade ago, they are not alone in flashing the chequebook with both Manchester clubs, Liverpool and Arsenal adding multimillion pound talent to their ranks.
However, players still have to perform regardless of their price tag and so far only two sides have beaten Chelsea in the Premier League this season.
Bafflingly given their recent form, Newcastle beat them in December before Spurs demolished Chelsea 5-3 at White Hart Lane on New Year’s Day. Many have threatened to join them but significantly no side have been able to get the better of them since January 1 and they remain unbeaten at home.
One of the complaints consistently levelled against Mourinho has been their lack of style. Saturday’s 1-0 win over Manchester United did little to silence the critics and it is certainly true that since beating Swansea 5-0 on January 17, Chelsea have been more attritional than attractive.
However, it shouldn’t be forgotten that before Christmas, many pundits were lauding this side as the best the club have ever had. Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown even went as far to say it was one of the most outstanding in Premier League history.
Few would support that theory now. Their humiliating FA Cup defeat by League One Bradford washed away the veneer of invincibility at the Bridge, while the manner of their Champions League exit by Paris St Germain exposed major flaws in the squad.
Yet they have still lost fewer matches in all competitions than the Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ of 2003-04 and already have the Capital One Cup in the trophy cabinet.
In Eden Hazard they have the best — and most exciting — player in the League, as the end-of-season awards will surely show.
The ability to ‘win ugly’ is a skill all
They are seen as the great upstarts who gatecrashed football’s top table and have a manager fans love to hate