London – Petr Cech last night spoke out in support of the Chelsea way, defending the right of senior players to have their say and the right of owner Roman Abramovich to hire and fire as he sees fit.
Cech is the first voice from the dressing room to speak publicly since last week’s training-ground spat between senior players and Rafa Benitez.
Two days later, Benitez took a swipe at the decision to employ him under the title of interim manager, suggesting it had undermined his authority, and confirmed he will definitely leave when his contract expires at the end of the season.
“We do it our way, the other clubs do it their way, and it seems to work so far, so long may it continue,” said Cech, who arrived at Chelsea in 2004 and has played under eight of Abramovich’s nine managers.
“You can argue with a lot of things but in the same period of time we won more or less the same number of trophies as Manchester United.
“They had one manager, we had eight, and we won the same trophies. We won the Champions League, there are so many positives.
“Arsenal had the same manager and it is a long time since they won something. You can’t always say that is the fault of the manager or the players. Maybe if you asked them if they would rather have 10 managers and six trophies, I don’t know what they would say.”
Since Mourinho built his title-winning team at Chelsea, the senior players in the dressing room have developed a formidable reputation for the power they wield and they have never been afraid to take on the manager if they feel something ought to be said.
“We had a lot of success thanks to the honesty and open mind everyone has in the dressing room,” said Cech. “Everybody should have a chance to express an opinion, and if the players are not happy in our dressing room, it is not the case that we say, “Unlucky mate, we will carry on, you pick yourself up”.
“No. If someone is not happy we try to help them to be happy again and to be at the top. This is why, when we see something is going wrong, people have the right to say, “We think this is wrong, we should improve that, we need to try to find a different solution”.
“It is important for the manager to know the feedback. But there is only one boss and that is the manager.
“It is up to him if he wants to listen to what the players say or find his own way through.”
Chelsea beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, easing the pressure on Benitez by keeping the club on track for a top-four finish.
“On Saturday, you could see from the start we took control of the game and we created chances. The only problem was that we did not finish the game off,” added Cech.
“There are things we are still not doing well but that is a normal situation when you bring in a new manager. It needs some time to gel.
“The club took Rafa Benitez because they wanted to improve the situation and achieve the targets we had at the beginning of the season. He is here to do his best and to help us as much as he can.
As players, we must do the same: try to win games; work hard; move forward; achieve the targets. As a club, everyone should have the same feeling, no matter how long they’ve been here. We are the Chelsea Football Club and we should be united: the players, the fans, the manager, his coaching staff, the board, everybody to achieve the targets.”
Intelligent and articulate, Cech has become the public voice of the dressing room this season.
He exhibits the mental strength and confidence typical of Chelsea’s senior players, a by-product of the success achieved by Mourinho, who won five major trophies in three years at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho arrived in 2004 and masterminded the club’s first title in half a century before successfully defending it. He also won the FA Cup and League Cup twice before a breakdown in his working relationship with owner Abramovich. He was sacked in September 2007.
The pair are understood to have reconciled many of their differences, although Abramovich still has reservations about the prospect of a return.
There was no major anti-Benitez protest on Saturday, but there were several banners displayed at the game by Chelsea fans making their views clear on the interim manager.
One said: “Divided We Fall Rafa Out”, another said: “The Interim One” and another said: “We’re Just Not That Interim”.
Benitez said: “We had to produce a good game and we did it. The players enjoyed it, the fans were behind the team. Everything was positive.
“˜What will happen in the next week, I don’t know. I’m really pleased after winning, without thinking what will happen in the future.”
Despite the success with a revolving-door policy on the manager’s office, Cech would like to see the next manager given more time.
“I have been saying that for six years,” Cech added. “I hope the new manager will find the momentum and he will stay.
“I’ve been here a long time and I’ve seen so many things that I don’t get surprised any more.” – Daily Mail