Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri ‘knows he will be axed in next 18 months’, claims Gary Neville
Previous bosses Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte had well-publicised fall-outs with the dressing room - and were soon axed
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MAURIZIO SARRI knows he will be sacked by Chelsea within two years, claims Gary Neville.
And the former Manchester United and England star believes the Italian is already demonstrating the traits that got previous bosses booted at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues were limp and lethargic as they slumped to a 2-0 loss at Arsenal at the weekend.
Sarri slammed his side for failing to match Arsenal’s desire and told his players: if you can’t show the right attitude, you shouldn’t be playing at this level.
And Neville believes the 60-year-old could be adding a nail into his own coffin by turning on his players.
Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte both had well-publicised fall-outs with the dressing room - and in the end player-power won.
Speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, Neville said: "Sarri knows he’s going to get sacked at some point in the next 18 months or two years, that’s inevitable at Chelsea.
"He may as well call it how he sees it in the first six months when he’s got a little bit of control.
"It’s just a dressing room which can turn it on and off like a tap, it’s been able to do that for years.
"Sarri has probably thought he’s an experienced guy, he’s been around the block, and thinks he doesn’t need to take it.
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"I have to say normally I would always say it’s not right to call out your players. But we’re going to see more of it, there’s no doubt in the next five or 10 years.
";I think it’ll become the norm, because it’s us or them."
Furious Sarri ditched English so he could deliver his damning verdict, saying: “Today I prefer to speak Italian first of all because I want to send a message to my players, and I want my message to be very clear.
“I have to say that I'm extremely angry, very angry indeed.
“This defeat was due to our mentality more than anything else, our mental approach. We played against a team more determined than we were. And I can't accept that.
“Tactics don't come into it. Their high level of motivation was obvious throughout, particularly in both penalty areas.
“I'd prefer to come in here to talk about the tactics, about why we lost from a tactical point of view, but the fact is it appears this group of players is extremely difficult to motivate.
“It seems to me that, as a group of players, they're not aggressive from a mental point of view.
“They don't have a ferocity in their mentality. That's down to their characteristics. It's difficult to change."
SunSport's very own Mark Irwin also believes by Sarri taking on the players, it could be a recipe for disaster.
He said: "There is no group of footballers more practised in the dark arts of player power than this Machiavellian mob.
"And while Roman Abramovich might be an absent owner, his henchmen are willing to lend a sympathetic ear to their grumbles."