Former Chelsea player and assistant manager, as well as current loanee liaison (tracking the Chelsea Loan Army and reporting back to home base) Eddie Newton has added his voice to the chorus of those urging time and patience for Maurizio Sarri, claiming that the head coach is doing “a good job” and that his ideas and his methods are correct — basically to trust the process, as they say.
”You are at a top club, and you expect criticism when things are not going so well. When you are within the club, you know you are doing a good job. Most people won’t see that unless they are in the club on a day-to-day basis.
”As long as you know your systems are correct, you are trying to do the right things, and you are moving in the right direction then you have to believe in yourself.”
The trouble with Sarri of course hasn’t been self-belief — quite the opposite in fact. Sarri’s stubbornness was threatening to rise to unacceptable levels before the last couple games have finally shown some willingness to have a more pragmatic approach.
Newton, who won the Champions League as Robbie Di Matteo’s assistant, with Chelsea playing the ultimate pragmatic style, believes this is a new way forward for the coach, the team, and all those who are invested in its success.
“I know it is well-documented our club turn over managers quite regularly. But the simple fact is I think Sarri will get more time. I think the last two performances especially show he is adaptable because we were a lot more structured and compact and harder to beat.
“It shows we are going in a different direction and I think that helps a lot and will secure the fans. Hopefully, the fans saw the last two performances and got a little bit of confidence even though we lost one.”
The mood and sentiment around the team has certainly improved in the past week. Now we have to keep that going today against Fulham. As long as the team keeps winning, Sarri will get all the time he needs.