First Hazard and now Cahill lays into Mourinho's "ugly season"
The Chelsea defender's comments follow Eden Hazard's dig at the former Blues boss earlier this week, just days before Mourinho faces Pep Guardiola in derby grudge match
Just days after Eden Hazard had a dig at José Mourinho, Chelsea teammate Gary Cahill has also joined the Belgian in criticising the coach’s time at Stamford Bridge.
With Mourinho set to take on old enemy Pep Guardiola in what is being billed as the biggest Manchester derby in history on Saturday, defender Cahill told the Daily Express this week that Chelsea are now more organised under new manager Antonio Conte, and that last season the team “lost [its] way tactically” and “needed a game-plan” while Mournino was in charge.
“Conte puts trust in his players,” said Cahill. “Now we are good after an ugly season last year. I’ve always been the same player. But Conte knows how to treat players having played at the highest level himself.
"We lost our way tactically"
“We went from winning the league to the disaster of last season. We lost our way tactically, everyone’s head was in different directions,” added the England international.
“Everyone had different situations going on, whether you’re playing or not, the manager, or this or that. Different distractions are never healthy. It is the hardest thing when everyone is not on the same wavelength. People talk as if you wake up one day and suddenly you’re a bog standard player. It doesn’t happen.”
"The most important thing is to move forward”
Chelsea have won their opening three games of the season under Conte, something that Cahill says is down to new structure and belief that the Italian has brought to the club.
“The main thing for me is how fit and sharp we look, and the organisation in terms of where players need to be. We have worked very hard and we are buying into what is happening here. That’s the most important thing – to move forward.”