London (AFP) – Maurizio Sarri arrived at Chelsea hailed for his spectacular style of play but seven months later the beleaguered Blues boss is on thin ice after responding to his team’s troubles by stubbornly refusing to change his ways.
On a freezing Friday at Chelsea’s snow-covered training centre outside London, Sarri responded to reports he is in danger of being sacked by mounting a defiant defence of his philosophy.
Tensions have mounted over Sarri’s misfiring tactics and his public criticism of his stars after poor results.
A humiliating 4-0 defeat at Bournemouth on Wednesday triggered an avalanche of abuse for the Italian.
For Sarri, the crisis is in stark contrast to the widespread praise that greeted his appointment, with his Napoli teams the darlings of the purists for their attacking game-plan.
“Napoli are spectacular and his brand of football is a joy to watch,” Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said of Sarri.
Those summer compliments are now a distant memory, yet Sarri remains adamant his style will get results eventually.
“Why? First of all I want to do well with Plan A. I don’t want to change something that doesn’t work well at the moment,” he told reporters when asked if he would consider changing his tactics.
“I want to see my football played very well. Then we can change something. Everybody knows Barcelona for 10 years because they play their football.
“I am a dreamer. I want to play my football.”
Sarri’s idealistic dream could become a nightmare unless he turns the tide quickly.
The Blues’ worst league defeat for more than 22 years left their bid to qualify for the Champions League under severe threat.
Chelsea have dropped down to fifth place after winning only one of their past four Premier League games and face rock-bottom Huddersfield at Stamford Bridge on Saturday knowing a third successive defeat would be catastrophic.
Sarri had to apologise to an angry fan who confronted him in the car park at Bournemouth before being driven home alone to begin a long, sleepless night analysing exactly what went wrong.
– Tougher than expected –
Claiming he deserves the kind of time granted to Guardiola, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, Sarri said: “In the first season at Liverpool, Klopp was in the middle of the table.
“In England there are three teams above the others, In one the coach arrived five years ago, in one four years ago and in one three years ago.
from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2Bf6HI5
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