Shane Clancy
Maurizio Sarri has said that he never expected his Chelsea team to challenge for the Premier League title in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge.
The former Napoli manager seems to have adjusted to English football with relative ease. Chelsea are currently 4th in the league with only two defeats in 17 games.
Speaking today, ahead of Chelsea’s fixture with Leicester City this weekend, Sarri admitted that he never felt his team would be genuine title contenders this season.
“I’ve never seen Chelsea like a contender for the title,” Sarri told his pre-match press conference.
“I always said that at the moment there are two teams a step ahead of us.”
After Leicester, Chelsea travel to Watford on the 26th and have another London derby at Crystal Palace on December 30th.
The Blues made a flying start under Sarri, winning their first five league games during August and September. However, with Liverpool and Manchester City beginning to pull away into a two-horse race for the title, Chelsea and Sarri would be very happy to secure a top-four spot this season.
If Sarri is afforded the time to develop his own team at Stamford Bridge then they will definitely be making a more concentrated push for the Premier League title in the next two or three years.