Jorginho needs Chelsea team-mates to adapt to my style, says Maurizio Sarri
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri says midfielder Jorginho needs his team-mates to develop their “understanding” of the manager’s preferred style.
The Italy international joined former Napoli boss Sarri at the Premier League club on a five-year deal last summer.
But as Sarri has so far struggled to impose his methods in England, so Jorginho is yet to live up to the £57m fee that brought him from Serie A.
“Jorginho has a very strong character, a very strong personality,” said Sarri.
“I can believe that he has no problem to play under pressure. He played very well in the last match, better in the second half than in the first. For him, it’s very important to finish the match in that way.
“I think that he can do better. But he needs all the team to understand very well our way of football.”
Kepa Arrizabalaga’s refusal to be substituted in the Carabao Cup final had raised further questions over his manager’s authority in the Chelsea dressing room, following heavy league defeats by Bournemouth and Manchester City in the league.
However, the Blues responded to a turbulent period by beating London rivals Tottenham in their last match to ease some of the pressure on the Italian.
And with 19th-placed Fulham next up, Sarri has his sights on a top-four finish.
“The pressure is inside,” Sarri said. “I felt big pressure in Serie C, and very little sometimes in the Champions League. It’s really very important your feeling at the moment.
“Napoli is not a small club. And the pressure is a lot higher there than here. Every match is very difficult and mentally very expensive.
“You risk arriving at this moment of the season really very tired, more mentally than physically. In England, the season is really very difficult.
“The target of my club is to return in the Champions League. I would be really very happy.”
Laura Muir is bickering with long-time coach Andy Young about her plans for a post-Olympic puppy.
Young – a fastidious coach who already has every week planned between now and the Tokyo Games next summer – is worried a dog will impact on valuable training time.
Muir begs to differ. A puppy will be a welcome companion on long runs and lengthy trips abroad to European training camps. Hence why the normally softly-spoken Scot is in bullish form.
By her own admission, such self-assuredness has not always been Muir’s forte. In fact, when Glasgow last hosted major championship athletics, Muir, weighed down by pre-event media hype and pre-race nerves, saw her expected Commonwealth medal bid end in tears.
She finished the 1500m in 11th and, so affected by that setback, opted not to contest the 800m.
Five years on, she’s gearing up to race again in her adopted home city, fully confident of delivering the double-double by defending her 1500m and 3,000m European indoor titles. It’s a far cry from the “overwhelmed” 21-year-old at Glasgow 2014.