Recent history tells us the Chelsea dressing room can be a toxic, fickle place when results are not going their way. Yet Maurizio Sarri seems only too willing to fall into the same trap as so many of his predecessors. Having watched his side slip to a fourth defeat in nine games with a 2-0 reverse against Arsenal at the Emirates, the Italian didn't hold back. The fact that he conducted his interviews in his native language via an interpreter, so that he could better articulate his scathing message, does not mean that it will have been lost on his players. "I'm really angry about the approach we adopted today," he told BT Sport."It's part of my job to talk to the team. It's the kind of approach I don't think we can accept."Yet it seems to me that we find it very difficult to be truly motivated for these games."In his post-match press conference, he continued his attack, adding: "It appears this group of players are extremely difficult to motivate."These players don't have a ferocity, it's the type of players they are. This is a team that's never going to be known for its battling qualities."
MotD pundits respond
Sarri appears ready to go down the same path as Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte by publicly taking on Chelsea's stars if he feels they aren't giving 100%.
The trouble is, as Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy pointed out on Match of the Day, managers very rarely come out on top when they go to war with their own players.
"We've seen it in the past when managers have criticised players openly on television. It doesn't work," Shearer said.
"He's criticising himself by saying that," Murphy added.
"It's his job to motivate the players. I think he's making a rod for his own back, causing himself problems by speaking out about his players like that."
Sarri might find himself sympathising with Mourinho's recent beIN Sports interview in which he claimed there was a "problem" between players and managers in modern football.
“We are not in a time any more where the coach, by himself, is powerful enough to cope and to have a relationship of education and sometimes confrontation with players who are not the best professionals," the Portuguese said.
One has to wonder what Roman Abramovich makes of Sarri's outburst from afar, with the Blues now enjoying just a three-point cushion over Manchester United and Arsenal in fourth.
The cracks have already started to show.
Do you agree with Sarri's comments about Chelsea players? Have your say in the comments.