I've been made a scapegoat, insists
Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko says he has been made a scapegoat for Chelsea's
current problems and is furious with reports suggesting he has
become an unsettling influence at the club. The £30million
Ukrainian striker has been disappointing in his first season at
Stamford Bridge and after missing the last two matches with a
muscle strain, is vying for a recall against Liverpool at the
weekend.
But Shevchenko, 30, told the Times: 'I am being made a scapegoat
for things that have nothing to do with me. 'I have been attacked
from all sides but I intend to carry on. I will grit my teeth. I am
not a quitter I just want to be kept out of the politics.'
Shevchenko also rejected reports that he is a dressing-room 'spy'
of owner and friend Roman Abramovich. He told ESPNsoccernet: 'This
is not true. I'm just one player, I'm part of the team like all the
others and I don't think this is true at all.'
'I've got the same relationship [with Abramovich] as other Chelsea
players, I'm just one player in the team, and I've got the same
relationship as all the other players have.'
The former AC Milan player has shrugged off suggestions that there
is tension between him and boss Joe Mourinho and insists he would
accept any decision the Portuguese manager made.
He added: 'I highly respect him as a manager. 'Mourinho is a great
manager. He has showed how much he's worth by winning so many
titles,' he adds. 'He has won many titles, but I cannot judge him
either as a coach or as a person because I haven't known him for
long enough.
Shevchenko feels he has acclimatized to London, but his on-pitch
performances have not been up to scratch and he has come under
intense pressure to find the net.
'It's hard to judge my performance,' he says. 'The year is not over
yet. So far I have not been at my optimum level, I need time but
I'm working as hard as I can. 'I need more time, I need time to fit
in, I played for another team, for a long time and now I've come to
a new team. I need time and luck as well.'
Shevchenko however has now decided to stop talking to the English
media - unless asked to do so by the club. He declared: 'There have
been a lot of quotes coming out from me that I don't even know
where they've come from.
'They have caused a lot of hurt to me and my family. From now on
other than sanctioned club press conferences all my comments will
appear here on my official website.'
