Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri heads into Saturday’s tasty clash against Tottenham looking to extend both the Blues’ unbeaten start to the season, and his own personal Premier League record.
Sarri cemented his name in the history books before the international break after he became the first manager to go undefeated in his opening 112 Premier League matches - following a goalless draw against Everton - a record he can propel to 13 matches should his troops win or draw at Wembley on Saturday.
The point against Everton meant that Chelsea have yet to lose under Sarri's tutorship, accumulating eight wins and four draws in the top-flight, which puts the club 3rd in the table behind leaders Man City, and Liverpool.
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Sarri has revealed that while he loves the passion, quality and competitiveness of the English game, he’s not enjoying the lack of time he gets to spend with his players on the training pitch due to the abundance of matches.
“Eighteen games unbeaten, in a competitive reality like ours, shows we’re on the right track.
“I’m even happier because we’re playing a lot of games and it’s harder to make headway like this.
“It’s very tight and playing so much takes away some of the work we do in training, but I always knew that would be the case.
“Right now I’m trying to find middle ground between training and competitions. What won me over and what would I like to improve? The thing that wins you over immediately is the high level of football at fantastic stadiums.
“There’s an infinite amount of passion and, from what I have seen so far, it’s expressed in the right way.
“The aspect that needs improving is timing. The limited time to train doesn’t help Coaches or players.
“We mustn’t only think about the physical component but also the mental one.”
Chelsea have a jam-packed fixture list coming up as they juggle both domestic and European football, with 11 games still to play between now and the end of the year.
