Scolari accused some players of producing only
35 per cent of their capacity.
BRAZIL NUTS ... Phil Scolari is furious with his
Chelsea flops
Scolari’s job at Stamford Bridge will be on the line if
he cannot turn the tide threatening to engulf the Blues, who have
managed just one win in their last six games.
He accepts the criticism but says it is now time for
his team to listen and do things his way — starting with tonight’s
FA Cup third-round replay at Southend. Changes will be made in
tactics and personnel as Chelsea switch back to Scolari’s preferred
zonal marking system and big names like Ivory Coast hitman Didier
Drogba are dumped.
If that does not work, Scolari is ready to take the
blame because he knows the zonal tactic is unpopular with his
defenders. The Brazilian gaffer admitted: “In the last five games
we played at 50 per cent of our potential, no more than
this.
“Some players have been at 75 to 80 per cent, while
others have been at 35-40 per cent. “But the balance for our team
as a whole in the last five games has been 50 per cent.
“If you ask me if this team are ready to win things,
then ‘no’. They are NOT ready to win a trophy —
and they know this. “They might not say things publicly but they
know we are not ready.
“They need to understand that now and we need more
work. Sometimes when we are wrong we need to pay more attention. We
need a win — now.”
Chelsea are second in the Premier table, four points
behind Liverpool and one point ahead of United, who have two games
in hand. And Scolari added: “I understand people don’t have a very
good opinion about me because we have just lost a game 3-0 against
Manchester United at Old Trafford.
“And I know that I need to work more than before with
my players. All the players have had their chance. I have given
every one of them at least five or six games to impress.
“We will start with one team against Southend United
and maybe I will start with the same team against Stoke City. “But
I need answers from the players. I will give them their chance and
I need answers.
“In the last three or four games — we need to talk
about the fact that we have lost goals from set-pieces. “Against
Southend, we must not make the same mistakes. “But what has
happened is a lesson for us — in 25 games we had no mistakes and
then we have in the last three or four.
“My team knows it’s not normal to have so many
mistakes. “Eight times we have made mistakes and have conceded in
five games. “When I arrived we marked zonally but then we changed
to a man-to-man system. Now with the new system if things go wrong
it will be my fault — not the players’ — because it is my
system.”
Scolari added: “In the last four games, we are wrong.
“We need to admit to the people, to the critics and to the fans
what has happened. “We need to explain it and there is nothing more
than this to say. “The players have been trying hard, I know
that.
“Do you think that any player will go on the pitch in
front of 75,000 people like at Old Trafford and not want to play?
Never. Sometimes they make mistakes because they are not in a good
condition but not because they do not want to play.
“If this happened then they would be finished. “I am a
good man but I am not a fool. Sometimes I’m a fool but not every
time. “And if Chelsea lose a game it’s not just me — it’s the whole
of the team. We are in the same boat.”
What boat’s that, Phil? The Titanic?
