On eve of crucial game in Europe, Chelsea’s young striker predicts three years of success under Portuguese manager
From the outside it appears familiar cracks are opening up. Senior players look unsettled, unnerved by the new demands being placed upon them, threatened by the prospect of upheaval and dissatisfied by stodgy results. Frank Lampard scowls as he trudges prematurely from the turf. Nicolas Anelka and Alex are transfer-listed and cast to the margins, high-profile victims of a process of evolution.
Yet if instinct suggests disaffection is welling up just as it did so critically under Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari, with the appetite for life under André Villas-Boas to be sternly tested by Valencia’s considerable threat at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, then the reality is apparently very different. “Even after the losses we’ve had, we’ve always had confidence in ourselves and in the manager,” said Daniel Sturridge. “I’m behind him. Everyone else is, too. He’s going to be here for the next three years. We’re not worried about any other manager coming in because we know he’s going to be here for those three years.”
That was timely backing before a game that will determine Chelsea’s further involvement in the Champions League. The club were shrewd in designating Sturridge, one of the new generation thriving under the Portuguese’s guidance, for pre-match media duties. These are transitional times and a young manager with awkward decisions to make needs a core of support from within. Should his side secure the victory or goalless draw they require to emerge from Group
