Chelsea manager, Maurizio Sarri, has admitted it is taking him longer to install his philosophy at the club compared to Napoli, due to the “English mentality” which favours intensity over tactics.
Sarri was granted a stay of execution with Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Tottenham, but there are still significant question marks over his future at Stamford Bridge.
Some fans have questioned the Italian’s dogged attachment to his ‘Sarri-ball’ style of play and he admits the reticence towards working on tactics in the Premier League has been a problem.
Asked how long it will take Chelsea to get to the level he demands, Sarri told Sky Sports: “It’s impossible to answer. Sometimes three months is enough, sometimes you need one season or one-and-a-half seasons.
“I think that if you change country, if you change football, it’s longer. Now I am in the first season in England so I started to understand something, not everything at the moment, but something. So now I realise that here is longer, it’s more difficult.
“The mentality is really different. For example, with an English player, it is very easy to have a very good intensity during the training. But it’s very difficult to have a session only about tactics.
“In Italy, it’s the opposite. It’s very easy to work in tactics, and it’s very difficult to have a great intensity during the training. It’s different. No worse, no better, just different.”
