Thomas Tuchel addressed the media ahead of Chelsea's Premier League clash with Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
Chelsea are back in action after the international break and welcome the Bees to Stamford Bridge.
The European and World champions have won their previous six games, with their last defeat coming at Wembley on February 27 against Liverpool on penalties in the Carabao Cup final.
IMAGO / PA Images
Here's what the Chelsea boss had to say in full in his pre-match press conference:
On team news:
“Team news, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell will miss the game tomorrow. Callum still feels his achilles a little bit and some lower back problems. Everyone else was in training. It is always a challenge to come back after these breaks. Everyone was all around the world with different experiences, some of them very successful, some of them not. Some played a lot, some have jet lag. It’s always a challenge coming back. It’s time to regroup and go again tomorrow.”
On Reece James:
“Ready to go, Reece is in the squad for tomorrow.”
On Cesar Azpilicueta contract extension:
“I knew it was going to happen because I knew the amount of games before it was going to happen. It was so close. It’s a good thing, we were aware of it. It’s good news for us. We have a contract, he’s our captain, it’s a very high possibility he will stay.”
On Antonio Rudiger’s agent meeting with Barcelona:
“If it’s true, of course (it’s worrying). I would try to meet him if I was any other club! He’s still our player, we still think there’s a good chance he stays our player once things are solved. This situation is the situation at the moment, our hands are tied. We cannot speak, negotiate with him and his agent. Fair enough if it’s true that he listens to other offers. That’s the way things go but I am still confident.”
On potential new owner:
“Not sure if I could even tell you the names of the consortiums and new bidders. It is my information that it is down to four and in the next weeks should be further talks and negotiations.”
On new owners meeting Thomas Tuchel:
“I’m not sure if they want to and I’m not sure if I should! I don’t know if it’s a good idea or bad idea. Maybe it’s best to be involved, if I am involved, as late as possible.”
On missing out on Manager of the Month to Mikel Arteta:
“No, it’s okay. We can leave it like this. We win all the matches and I don’t get the reward, I cannot be happier!”
On fans attending Champions League and FA Cup games:
“We had the situation before in the league. From perspective, from solely team perspective and sporting perspective it would be perfect to have all our spectators in the stadium to support us. We are happy that things change with spectators in the FA Cup and Champions League. Tomorrow everybody needs to step up. Everybody is in charge and has responsibility to create a good atmosphere. We need our spectators.”
On Jorginho mood after Italy World Cup qualification failure:
“Good, I have to say. To be honest, I did not speak to him a lot about that because what could I say to make his pain go away? Nothing. If I’m the two hundredth person to tell him ‘come on, put your head up high’. It’s our job to create an atmosphere for the players to come, feel safe outside. Of course, this happens in sport and it feels horrible for him personally and his teammates, but here is a safe place for hm. He was very strong in training, very good response. He came one day earlier than he needed to be. He wanted. That’s why I had the feeling he loved to be back and be in this environment because it’s a positive environment.”
On difficulties to prepare for next season:
“It’s impossible. I don’t know, it’s hard to guess how much of a disadvantage (Chelsea would have on Man City & Liverpool). It is impossible to guess, that’s why we don’t do it. We focus on what we have right now and our next matches. Maybe it is also an advantage that we cannot get distracted. We deal with the disadvantage later when it becomes clear.”
On Christian Pulisic and Thiago Silva ready to start:
“Thiago is a bit different to Christian, I have to say. Thiago did not play the third match with Brazil, came back one day earlier and had not the same jet lag than Christian. Thiago was here yesterday and trained today, feels very good so he is available tomorrow. For Christian we need to decide, he did not train today. We decided to give him another recovery session today. He did not train with the team, he was here. He was very tired with huge jet lag because he played one day ago, one and a half days ago like 85 minutes, so he played all three matches for the US. We need to figure out if that makes sense and if it makes sense, for how many minutes it makes sense tomorrow.”
On boost of Cesar Azpilicueta possibly staying:
“Well, I knew it all the time that this is very likely to happen because he is a regular starter with us. I knew the amount of games we needed to make him stay, to make his contract continue or extend. That’s why I am very happy, you know how much I rely on him and how much impact he has in this group and this club. It’s very good news for us.”
On five substitute rule:
“It’s a brilliant decision. We were the only league that did not do it in Europe so it is an excellent decision. I dare to say it is an excellent decision for everybody because I was also long enough coach for underdog teams and I would have loved to have five substitutes to make more players play, keep the intensity level or increase the intensity against stronger teams. For us and the amount of games we play until now, the amount of competitions we play, the amount players play on international duty – they go again in summer with Nations League. It is absolutely necessary to protect the players, to protect the quality and to use the full potential of tactical influences in the game. Very good decision.”
On reports of Romelu Lukaku being unhappy and potential Inter Milan return:
“We don’t reflect on it. The situation at the moment is that we cannot talk to players, cannot sell and cannot buy. In this moment we don’t need to think about it. These are the players we have. Romelu still plays a big part. Not the part maybe he wants to play and I totally understand it. He used his time to disconnect a little bit, one week of a holiday then he was back with us. I feel him very motivated, very strong in training, very much involved when we do the games. He is a winner and he will stay a winner and stay important with us. He had a good match in Middlesbrough, a huge boost for all of us and for him personally and in the moment there is no space for bad mood and no space for disappointment. There is simply not. I checked the schedule last week and I knew this was the schedule but once it is in front of you, you see what's coming. There are a lot of matches in the decisive weeks of the season. That’s why there is no space now for second thoughts, being distracted or disappointed. We need everybody, every player and that includes Romelu.”
On Brentford form:
“Maybe it is also normal (struggling) as a newcomer in the toughest league in the world. They expected maybe to not fly through the season like they started. When we played them in the first match, it was maybe one of the worst moments to play them because they were absolutely flying. They were full of positivity and belief, we played a very good match and struggled in the last 18 minutes like crazy and we needed to defend and a lot of luck to escape with three points. Then we had another match at Brentford in the Carabao Cup, we played very very well and learned from our first match. That’s the challenge for tomorrow. They played for a long period of the season in a back five, 5-3-2, but they change in the last matches to a 4-3-3. Let’s see what they do tomorrow. They are still a very physical team, a very direct team. They still are a team that rely heavily on set pieces so we know about it and need to be ready. We expect a tough one again.
On Christian Eriksen:
“I was not particularly following every little step but I am aware of the story. It is brilliant he is back and in the Premier League and has the chance to enjoy football on this level, it is perfect news and a great story.”
On Joan Laporte of Barcelona saying they have signed a defender and whether it is Andreas Christensen:
“We heard he rumours, the same rumours. I have no confirmation for you as I did not speak to Andreas about it at the moment but we heard the same rumours, so. Maybe they… it’s like this.”
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