Scolari to heal disunity at Chelsea
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Luiz Felipe Scolari to heal disunity at Chelsea
Luiz Felipe Scolari is becoming concerned that associates of players at Chelsea could undermine the club's unity by leaking stories.
Concerned: Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari wants his players to pull together.
The Chelsea manager is known to feel extremely strongly about the importance of keeping all dressing-room or team discussions in-house and has been frustrated by some reports that have appeared in the media following the club's disappointing recent run.
Scolari is adamant that the spirit at Chelsea is strong, but pointedly remarked that "sometimes the walls have ears" at his press conference on Friday. Chelsea, who face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, believe that there are people from outside the club who have been agitating.
Last year Chelsea experienced similar a problem under Avram Grant, who instructed the media not to listen to agents "too much", following the Carling Cup final defeat against Tottenham.
Prior to the match, captain John Terry and first-team coach Henk ten Cate had a training-ground row that quickly became public knowledge.
Terry yesterday also called on Chelsea to improve their unity in 2009 as the club strive to win a potential treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
"We need to be more consistent, we need to play better and sometimes we need to be together more, including the fans," he said. "We can certainly do all that. Now we must all stick together. We take on the world as one: us players, management and staff and especially the fans. We support each other, we win together."
Scolari, who is optimistic about the progress of Michael Essien, is also particularly encouraged by the improving injury situation and believes that his staff have been successful in tackling some of the recurring issues. Despite the sale of Wayne Bridge to Manchester City, Scolari is not expecting to make any buys in the January transfer window.
Chelsea intend to be self-funding on an annual basis from July and no longer reliant on interest-free loans from Roman Abramovich. A spending review has seen the departure of 15 club scouts and even a cut of free tickets for players from eight to four per game.