Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri has admitted that their post-season friendly in Boston on Wednesday is 'not the best way' to prepare for the Europa League final.
The Blues wrap up their Premier League final on Sunday at Leicester City and then will fly out to the United States to take on the New England Revolution in a one-off match.
The friendly game is being played as part of Chelsea's 'Say No to Antisemitism' campaign and has been called the 'Final Whistle on Hate', a campaign that is being heavily pushed by owner Roman Abramovich.
And while Sarri is all for the cause of the match, the Italian admitted that with the Europa League final on May 29, it really isn't the perfect situation to be in.
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"A problem? We go there for a good reason I think, so as a man I am very happy to go there," Sarri said. "As a coach, of course, I am a little bit worried because I know very well that the team now needs rest. So it is not the best way to prepare the final, I think.
"Arsenal is not my problem. I have to look to my players, so I know very well that my players need to rest, and after four or five days they need to work for three or four days and then they need to prepare for the match. The match will be interesting and difficult.”
After the match in America, Chelsea will have two weeks to prepare for the Arsenal match in Baku, which will be another chance for Sarri to win his first ever trophy as a manager.
While that doesn't give him much chance to get ready, the Italian has admitted that he is willing to give his players some time on their own to recuperate with days off.
"I think so, I think so," Sarri added. "I want to speak to the physical staff, to the doctor and then we need to prepare the program. I think that they need three or four days completely in rest.
"I am not worried about the physical side, I think it is more difficult to recover mentally. Because in a match like this one you spend, usually, a lot of energy and then of course you have to go down and then it is not easy to go up again.”
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