Injuries?
“Loftus-Cheek is making good progress, which is really positive, but nowhere near contention
for match play. Other than that, we have a fit squad. Nice selection problems. Ross if
fine. Tomori is fine. Giroud is fine. They’re all fine, I think.”
Mental change in the players recently after the poor run of form?
“No. In a good way. We’ve got a good spirit, a good group. Questions start to be asked
of you, in house, when you get difficult results. It’s important to be very up front and honest
with each other. I see a positive group in training, a team training hard, a group that’s
together. That’s all I can ask for. We need the results to turn back a bit, because the
last few we’re not happy with.”
Is this the toughest part of your managerial career?
I had this last year. Every manager has it to a degree. Maybe not Jurgen Klopp for a
long time. It’s the nature of what we’re in. There have been some real positives, so
don’t get caught up in the negatives of a few results. We’re qualified for the next
stage of the Champions league, we’re fourth which not a lot people said we would be by
Christmas. We know we can do better, but we need to be confident and keep moving forward.”
Strengthening in January?
“Only areas in my head and discussions in house. Things that I see I won’t divulge
in public now. The only important thing is Tottenham, the games coming up and the interim.”
Does Jose being there make it extra special?
“I suppose so. I’m happy to go up against Jose. For me to play under him as a player,
he was a big influence on my career. To go up against him with Derby last year was a
big deal for me. I’ll always have respect for him. The bigger thing is Chelsea-Tottenham,
and what that rivalry means and what it should mean to our players and us. Rivalries are
what you feel about your club. Our fans will demand on Sunday what we feel for the game: which is passion.”
Arteta going to Arsenal? Ancelotti to Everton? A surprise?
“Nothing surprises me. Those two possible appointments do not. I know the credentials
of Ancelotti. Incredible career, fantastic man. Arteta is at a different end of his managerial
career, but looking from the outside and seeing how he carries himself, he’d be a really
positive appointment. He is an intelligent football man, diligent and a big opportunity for him.:”
How have you dealt with the players this week? Talked or worked on the training ground?
“We’ve worked on the training ground more than spoken too much. It’s been a busy week,
commitments through the week, but we’ve focused on training and will have meetings before the game.”
Have you taken any one thing from Jose Mourinho?
“Not one thing, no. Good manager. Loads of good attributes. I wouldn’t try and be
a clone or anything.”
How different are Spurs now that he is there?
“Always difficult. They got to the Champions League final last year, top four team, incredible
world-class talent and threats in their team. They are always difficult. Jose is a top manager.
A very difficult match.”
More comfortable away from home at the moment?
“Possibly a bit more comfortable, and maybe we need to address that. We’ve got good
results. But it’s more the type of game that is the issue. We have played a lot of
teams recently who have defended against us and we’ve not been able to break teams down
or take our chances of late, and conceded the occasional goal that has turned the game
against us. Spurs will be a different animal, you have to take the game as it is, with a
good team and with their home crowd behind them. We’ll see a different match.”
Ahead of where you’d think you’d be?
“I didn’t make expectations on positions. I heard what people thought of us because
of the ban. My expectations are more from where we are week-to-week.”
Memorable moments from Spurs games?
“We had a lot of good moments, and a couple of bad ones. They stick in your mind as much.
They’re not important, my memories of yesteryear. It’s important about what we do on the pitch.”
How good this week to be training all week with no game?
“It feels valuable for that. There was much needed rest at the beginning of the week.
The last performance at home, where we didn’t show the edge we had in terms of chance creation,
it was important to have a bit of a rest. We’ve had the chance to be more physical,
more active in the back end of the week. We’ll see if that helps.”
Where do you think the Spurs/Chelsea rivalry is now?
“It should be relatively even when you look at the clubs and, in the last four years,
where Chelsea and Tottenham have both been fighting to get into the top four. They had
a fantastic manager in Pochettino, who built an incredible team, with young talent, players
he brought in and an idea and that made them a big challenge for every team in the Premier
League. It’s not about who gets a heads up on each other. It’s always a competitive fixture.”
Is this the toughest team selection for you so far?
“They are all hard because of the squad and the nature of a Premier League squad.
Everyone wants to play. Now we have decent numbers, a competitive squad, and I have to
choose what’s right. The edginess of a full week has been good. Players want to push to
show they should be in the team. It makes it quite difficult. The rules are the same,
it’s what you do, day in and day out, that gets you back into this team. How you are
in training, around the group, everything. We take all that into account.”