Maurizio Sarri has pleaded with Chelsea fans to put their anger toward him on hold during the match against Brighton on Wednesday night and get behind the team.
The Chelsea coach was abused by a large section of the club’s travelling support during their fixture at Cardiff on Sunday, which they eventually won 2-1, when trailing 1-0 for much of the second half.
Cries of ‘we want Sarri out’ and ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ were just two the many audible things shouted in his direction as frustration over results and style of play continues to grow.
But Chelsea still have a great chance of qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four finish as they are within a point of Spurs (who are in fourth) and trail third-placed Arsenal by just three.
Sarri doesn’t want any negative distractions to affect his players in a must-win game against Brighton at home.
"I think that they have to help the players during the match,” he said.
“After the match, they can say anything, but during the match, I hope they will be able to help my players.
“At the moment, we are a very good group. So I think it's not helpful for my players. For me, it's not a big problem. I'm not happy, but it's not a big problem.
"I am 60, so I can understand. But when I was 25, probably it was different.
“I like to stay on the pitch. And I enjoy during training, of course. As I said before, I am not happy, but I can understand. It can happen. It's normal, I think. We need to improve. We need to play better. We want to try to change their opinion.”
