Sari is angry at the lack of motivation of Chelsea players

By Martin Herman

LONDON (Reuters) – Angry Chelsea coach Maurizio Sari accused his players of lack of determination and was "difficult to motivate" after witnessing a modest 2-0 defeat by Arsenal in the English Premier League. , Saturday.

When he left the locker room, the Italian coach was keen to express himself at the press conference after the match in his native language to fully express his frustration with regard to his team.

"It's better to speak in Italian because I want to send a message to my players and that they want to be very clear," said the 60-year-old former coach before moving to the # 39; Italian.

The translation was not a pleasure for Chelsea, who, despite taking possession of the ball at Emirates Stadium, had a modest performance in the attack and a poor defense, and could have been more shaken in the first half by Arsenal.

"I must say that I am very angry because the reason for this defeat is our mentality," Sari said through a translator.

"We have faced a competitor more intellectually determined than us, which I can not accept."

"We had the same problem with Tottenham and talked frankly about this defeat, I thought we had overcome this problem, but we seem to have a problem with lack of determination and mental toughness.

"I find it very difficult to motivate this group of players."

Chelsea remain fourth but only have three points ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United after Alexandra Lakazit's double and Laurent Cosellini's defeat.

* "More determined"

With Liverpool and Manchester City in contention for the title, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and United finished in third and fourth place.

Sari seemed to doubt that his team had the strength to fight the conflict.

"I saw one team more determined than the other, it was not about the plans, technically the teams were at the same level, but the degree of determination of Arsenal was clear, especially in the penalty areas.

"(Arsenal) was effective and we were not strong in defense." "Do not get me wrong, we could have lost this game, but I feel we lost due to lack of determination."

Sari's face had no conviction when asked if he could change his mentality.

"It's a tough question," he said, "it seems that this group of players is not very aggressive on the side of the mind and that it's not not enough ferocity, which is due to their personality.

"It can take a long time to change it, but it can be changed by adding a new player or taking one of the old players and moving the team forward."

Sari is hoping to see a change in his team when he hosts Tottenham in the English League Cup semi-finals on Thursday.

"They can not be afraid of baduming their responsibilities, they have to talk to the coach about mistakes or problems that have occurred, and if fear has a player, he should not play at that level."

"I am aware that this team will not know about its ability to fight or fight, but what we need is to be a team capable of adapting and suffering and then play in our own way. "

(Reuters)