Are Chelsea broken and would getting through be bigger achievement than 2012 win in Champions League?
We’re not where we want to be. I think the word broken is a bit much, but we’re not where we want to be. That’s clear, the league position is a reality in the Premier League, we’re 2-0 down in this game, so I think those things are just reality. We have to work against that and show in every way we can because we’re in that moment.
I don’t think anything tomorrow will be better than winning the Champions League in my opinion because we had many moments on that run of difficulties against Barcelona and Napoli. It was a huge run with a lot of big achievements. For us, considering the result now, considering the team we are up against and the moment we are in, we have to fight really hard to make it happen so of course that would be special.
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On Saturday you said the team was 'lacking capacity and needing physical work' is that a pop at the previous regime and players not being fit enough?
That’s how you’ve taken it because I’m always big on personal responsibility in football as a player and as a group. So when I’m talking like that I’m not blaming anyone else from what I see now and what I see in the future, so it’s something we have to address now and address going forward because it’s a big part of the game and we do a lot of work and delve into the data and statistics on the output of what we put into games. It’s not a question of commitment of players but my job is to focus in on points we can get better at to compete at this level and I think it’s something that as a short-term thing we can improve on and that’s we are going to do.
Owners in dressing-room and speaking to players. Comfortable with that?
Yeah I am comfortable with that. For me, there may have been some criticism of our old owner for not coming to games. Not being around and that wasn’t always true to be fair. But when an owner is invested in their interest in the team and wants to help and improve it’s the prerogative to have the input they want.
I remember the moments as a player of owners first coming into the dressing room. It first happened at Chelsea, never anywhere else before and I remember being really happy that they were there. You could touch them, you could high five them and listen to them and feel them. That’s not a bad thing in terms of the identity of the club and where you want to get to. There is no problem with it from my point of view. I had my things to say after the game. If the owner comes in and wants to be positive and speak to the players, then I think it is his part to do that. It can be regular in the modern day. It shows passion and that’s the first thing that I like.
How important is the atmosphere tomorrow?
I have no doubt it will be positive. And when I say that the lead into the game. The start of the game. The rest is down to us as a team to play with a real desire and know how to turn this game around. I have been here too many times before at this level of game with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on an evening midweek knockout Champions League game to understand that the atmosphere will be great. And again now it is time for us to tap into that early in the game and make sure we engage the crowd throughout, because they can help us for sure.
It’s why this two legged competition is the best out there. We just need to play our part.
Fernando Torres scored in 2012 at Barcelona, have you spoken about that to players in terms of how they can turn things around?
Anything is possible, in football anyway. There’s no doubt that we are a competitive team and that we deserve to be here at this stage of the competition. We also understand that the opponent is of a really high level.
We have to be careful to compare to previous moments or games because for Fernando Torres to go through and score that goal for Chelsea there is a big body of work behind that. And good and bad and difficult moments for us. A personal thing for Fernando, a group thing for us because we had lost semi finals, lost a final. There is always a lot of back story to it.
The only thing when you look back on those things is that it is always possible to create, to start that story and we have that opportunity. So I don't think it is worth comparing too much. It is worth focusing on the here and now with a little understanding that if we get things right, if we work hard and do the right things in the game then anything is possible.
You have been in football a long time, how do you explain Real Madrid's consistent strength in the Champions League?
I don’t know the exact Real Madrid story from inside but to look from the outside they have a great coach who I understand very well from working with him. He needs to take full credit in this moment because their run to the final last year was amazing resilience that he led. What’s very visible from the outside is a core of players that have been there a very long time playing at the highest level year after year. They have the talent, work ethic and leadership skills that drive the group as I see it. I’m talking obviously about Doric roos and Benzema and others. They have a very good recipe for a team that will be successful over a period of time. They also have individual talent that can win a game at any moment whether in control or without control, and I think those special players at the top of the pitch can be absolutely crucial to success at this level, and they have those.
Can you help the owners through the intricacies of English football?
No, all I'll do is speak honestly about how I see the club and do my work. Whilst I am here and manager of the football club in this period I will speak honestly, do my work on the training ground and have a lot of communication because I have a lot of care for this football club. That’s my job. It’s not my job to consider people’s approaches. I will just speak about my approaches and what I see.
Photo of Boehly speaking to a fan leaning over at Stamford Bridge - helpful for them to see what it means to fans? And Personal responsibility of players - as a group, these players give a bit more physically?
I’ll answer the second part first. I said it the other day, I said it earlier: I’m not questioning commitment of players. I got asked after the game on Saturday if the players looked hungry enough and I answered that it’s very easy to get to that point from the outside when there's a lot of factors that come together to try and get a team playing at its peak. Confidence, belief, physical nature of the game, tactical nature of the game. It feels like everyone is jumping on this physical thing. It’s Part of the game that’s important but there’s other parts that we can improve on. From my point of view it's about trying to attack those things. I call them the baseline things because without those things you will struggle at top level football to get results without them. We are trying to broach those things together in quick time but the reality is some of them take time to get better. So that’s fine. Tomorrow’s a huge game, we just have to focus on that.
With regard to the ownership and fans, passion goes both ways. The fans show passion and I don’t think the owners or anybody who comes to Chelsea and expect anything else. The fans have complete passion and want the club to do well and we have been fortunate enough that the club has been successful over the last 20 years or so. That means you want more of it. I don’t think anybody needs schooling on that. I think it is clear and also the word passion is coming from both sides. These are passionate owners who want to bring a real vision to the club and we are probably the early stage of the process in those terms. Again, I keep being asked a lot of the same sort of stuff but when you look at processes in the Premier League and we want to rise and stay the very top and at the moment we are just off that level. People always question everything in the beginning and the early stages and at any part of the process. There is an important stage with the way we are working - we just want to get our heads down and get on with the things in front of us. Passion and that is normal. I don’t think it is a problem. I certainly don’t find it is a problem. We can all be passionate together and work in the same direction to get where we want to be.
Have you looked to learn from last year's games and were there positive last week?
I’ve studied both games from last year. I don’t always bother but there are parallels in terms of the personnel who were playing through the team. So I felt it was important for myself and the staff to look at that. We also have the quick reference of last week and how they set up and the threats they have and how we will deal with that. You talk about last week and we had opportunities to score but at the same time there were a lot of things we could have done better in the last game. And I feel it even more having watched the game again. There were things that we wanted to do from the outset that we did not do well enough throughout the game. And I am not just talking about the physical game, it is things you have to do at this level in terms of using the ball. I think we can improve on that tomorrow and we need to improve on that to have a better chance of turning that around. That is for us to work on and hopefully you will see the fruits of that tomorrow. I am quite clear with the players how I see them in that. I know they have the capacity to really give this a good go and we must get our game right and be better than we were last week.
With defeat, there will be nothing left to play for, can avoid the pressure and just have to handle it?
I think so. I have got no problem with the club and what will be will be. But also every game we play for Chelsea is a good opportunity to win games and particularly with our form this season to try to get back to the feeling that it is possible. Nothing could have less on it, as far as I am concerned. Every game - Madrid, Brentford, Arsenal, going forward all the way to Newcastle on the last day - is and should be a huge game for us as individuals - myself included - and the collective because we all want to prove you know what it means when you represent Chelsea. I understand why it is important tomorrow but whatever way the result goes tomorrow we will keep working till the end.
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