Mason Mount has laughed about his “burning eyes” - but admitted he hates being made to sit out games.
Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard first used the phrase about how Mount’s eyes would burn into the back of his head if he was ever left out, and current manager Thomas Tuchel has said similar.
Chelsea midfielder Mount, 23, admits there are times when a player needs a rest - but says he will never, ever tell a manager to leave him out of the starting line-up.
Mount said: "I can’t bring myself to say that. I just leave it to the physios or other staff to say, he’s run that much in the games or cumulative games added up that I’ve run quite a lot and maybe it’s best to let him recover for a bit.
"But it would never come from me, no, never.
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"I don’t know if I’m actually doing it with my eyes or not. But you don’t want to miss a game as a player.
"Especially missing out on a big game, it hurts. But I’m not someone to go straight away to a manager and say to a manager ‘why are you not starting me, I should be playing.’
"I’m someone who likes to show in training that I’m definitely ready to play and ready to start.
"I don’t want to miss out on any big games. It’s difficult, we have a squad to rotate, but you want to play every game of course.
"Sometimes you have to admit to yourself and go to the manager and say, ‘Look, I am feeling it a bit’ - through gritted teeth - and maybe the next game coming it’s best not to start. But I haven’t done it!"
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