http://www.chelseafc.com/article.asp?id=180395
Claudio Ranieri not worried
Thursday, Jan 08, 2004
It was after 11.00pm when Claudio Ranieri finally appeared in the
post-match press conference. Like vultures waiting to pounce on wounded prey,
the assembled reporters were eagerly anticipating his arrival.
For them the story was all but written, the facts were plain: Chelsea had
only taken maximum points in two of our last six League games; Ranieri was
reportedly locked in talks with owner Roman Abramovich; and England coach
Sven-Goran Eriksson was again in attendance at the game.
Rumours gathered pace: would the Italian survive the night? Ironic really
as pre-match, it was Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier who was purportedly on
a final warning.
Apologising for his delayed appearance, the Chelsea head coach asserted:
“Don’t worry, you will see me for a long time yet. You will see me also
tomorrow.”
Dismissing his meeting with Abramovich as ‘normal’, he explained: “After
every match, we have a meeting.”
This was Liverpool’s first Premiership victory at Stamford Bridge, their
first win since beating us 5-2 in December 1989, the season they went on to win
the League championship for a record 18th time.
They are the first Premiership side to stop us scoring at home all season
with Bruno Cheyrou, freshly returned after going off injured against us at
Anfield on the opening day of the season, scoring his first Premiership goal.
With a makeshift side missing England internationals Michael Owen and
Steven Gerrard, little wonder under-fire Houllier was delighted with the
victory.
“Chelsea is a great side, a good team, a technical side. They have good
skill, good talent. They are playing at home. Look at the record of Liverpool
here. So you need to have a plan. Particularly if you stretch, they can play,
they can construct. I think we kept the two lines rather tight.
“We knew we had to frustrate them. There’s some games where we play
extremely well and don’t get anything out of the game. Today maybe was an ugly
win but a very good win all the same.
“It was a great goal, good movement. After the goal we survived for a
couple of chances they had. Second-half it was a matter of winning the battle.
“I know they’re going through a bad patch themselves and I’ve got some
sympathy for Claudio at the moment but we made them look ordinary. They
probably ran out of ideas.”
Agreeing with the Frenchman about the Blues bad patch, Ranieri added:
“Unfortunately this period for us is not good. But I said to my players
‘well done’ because they gave their maximum tonight. Everybody isn’t in the
best condition but everybody played like a team. It wasn’t good but I am very
pleased when my players try to do their maximum.
“Tonight we showed good character. I am pleased with this. It’s too easy
to say: ‘Well done guys, today we won.’ Tonight we lost but we played our
best and I am pleased with this.
“I am not worried about this run. Of course, I am not happy but there
isn’t a team who can stay at the high level for 11 months.”
Asked to explain Chelsea’s current nose-dive, the head coach suggested:
“Football is strange. In the last month, Chelsea played well only against
Besiktas and Fulham. In the other matches, we haven’t played very well.
Tonight we played better than against Bolton and other matches but Liverpool
scored first. It was difficult before the goal and more difficult after the
goal.”
Now seven points behind League leaders Manchester United who picked up
maximum points, and four behind Arsenal, who dropped two at Everton, Ranieri
again rejected all talk of winning the title.
“When we were at the top of the League, I said it’s not important now.
We must continue to build. It’s easy for me to say that I want to fight for
the title but it’s not true. I am fighting to build a team.
With the transfer window open, he was asked whether he needed to strengthen
his squad even more.
“No. We need only to go through this bad period,” came the emphatic
reply.
“When there is a bad moment, everything is wrong. Three matches ago, an
opponent scored an offside goal. The last match at Watford, it wasn’t a goal
but it was given. Today I think at the end, there was a penalty on Mutu. At
the right moment, a penalty is given and it’s a goal. At the wrong moment,
it’s not a penalty and there’s no goal.”
Gill Lester
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