Chelsea’s embattled manager Maurizio Sarri says he is not worried about calls from fans to be sacked after his side were dumped out of the FA Cup by Manchester United.
First-half goals from Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba gave Manchester United the advantage at Stamford Bridge.
When Kevin Friend blew his half-time whistle, the home fans booed the players off the pitch.
After the match, Sarri admitted he was concerned about Chelsea’s results but not what the fans were saying about him.
Those disgruntled fans will be astonished to find out Sarri believed his team played well in the defeat, saying: “With the result, we were unlucky. In the first half we played better than the opponent and, at the end of the first half, it was 2-0 to them.
“Not about the fans. I can understand the situation because the result wasn’t good.
“We are out of the FA cup so I can understand. I am worried about our results.”
When asked if he heard what the fans chanted, he said: “Not very well, but sometimes yes.
On whether or not his players are still behind him, Sarri said: “I think so. Of course I am not sure, but I think so. I think the situation with the players is really very good for the relationship, but the relationship is not so important. It’s important to play, it’s important to get good results, but my relationship with my players is good at the moment.”
Ultimately Sarri knows that his future is out of his hands so he should only focus on things he can control, like coaching the team.
He cannot worry too much about what Abramovich is thinking, simply about the League Cup final on Sunday and then the second leg of the Europa League tie with Malmo next week.
It is hard to see Sarri coming out of this crisis unscathed.