Chelsea boss: Midfield must work harder for Sheva
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Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was critical of his midfield after yesterday's Community Shield defeat by Liverpool.
Asked about Andriy Shevchenko's opening goal for the Blues, Mourinho said: "Shevchenko cannot get the ball from Cudicini's hands and score a goal at the other end. He needs the team to have sharpness, condition and tactical structure to be in possession in the last third. In the last third, he is fantastic. He had two situations - one was almost a goal and finished with a corner and one was a wonderful goal. He needs a team to be behind him to be what he is - an amazing player.
"Ballack has had just over a week of training and it doesn't surprise me that players in this situation become injured. I hope it is a little problem."
Mourinho was in no position to offer a quick fix to the shortfall in preparation.
"We have to work. I read a few newspapers where some super-specialists laugh when I say we need time and we are not in the same moment as other teams. But it is because they are funny people and like to write funny things.
"The reality is that in football, you need to work. I want to change things and play a different way. To play that different way, you need to work tactically, you need sharpness which we don't have at this moment and you need time. But next week I have to work with just four players who are not playing friendly internationals.
"But I am not worried because it is ten months of competition. We have ten months to work, to improve, to win matches. So if something happens in this first two weeks and we lose a game or two points, it is not a drama."
Asked about Andriy Shevchenko's opening goal for the Blues, Mourinho said: "Shevchenko cannot get the ball from Cudicini's hands and score a goal at the other end. He needs the team to have sharpness, condition and tactical structure to be in possession in the last third. In the last third, he is fantastic. He had two situations - one was almost a goal and finished with a corner and one was a wonderful goal. He needs a team to be behind him to be what he is - an amazing player.
"Ballack has had just over a week of training and it doesn't surprise me that players in this situation become injured. I hope it is a little problem."
Mourinho was in no position to offer a quick fix to the shortfall in preparation.
"We have to work. I read a few newspapers where some super-specialists laugh when I say we need time and we are not in the same moment as other teams. But it is because they are funny people and like to write funny things.
"The reality is that in football, you need to work. I want to change things and play a different way. To play that different way, you need to work tactically, you need sharpness which we don't have at this moment and you need time. But next week I have to work with just four players who are not playing friendly internationals.
"But I am not worried because it is ten months of competition. We have ten months to work, to improve, to win matches. So if something happens in this first two weeks and we lose a game or two points, it is not a drama."
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