Maurizio Sarri Says His Job as Chelsea Manager Is 'Always at Risk'

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri thinks he will always be under pressure to perform while he is in charge at Stamford Bridge.

A recent inconsistent run of form reached a nadir on Wednesday, when the Blues were hammered 4-0 by Bournemouth in the Premier League. Sarri watched his side cave in after the break during a dismal second-half display.

Following the result, there has been criticism of the manager's setup and his style of play. When asked whether his position was under threat, Sarri said that kind of pressure comes with the territory of being in charge of such a big club, per Liam Twomey of ESPN FC.

"I think that my job is always at risk, and I love my job for this reason," the former Napoli boss said. "I thrive on pressure. So I love my job for everything, but I know very well the rules. My job is always at risk. You can win against [Manchester] City, but after three days, you are at risk."

While he has received a lot of criticism since the Bournemouth defeat, Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph was impressed with the way the Italian fronted up to challenging questions at his press conference on Friday:

Chelsea head into Saturday's Premier League clash with bottom-of-the-table Huddersfield Town outside the top four. After looking as though they may challenge for the title earlier in the campaign, they appear to be in a major battle with Manchester United and Arsenal for that final UEFA Champions League berth.

If they perform like they did against Bournemouth for the remainder of the campaign, then getting in the top four will be a huge struggle. After all, it's been a long time since Chelsea were on the end of such a heavy loss in the top flight:

Having reached rock bottom with that display, the onus is on Sarri to get a response from his players in the coming matches. However, it doesn't appear as though a change in style is something he would be willing to entertain.

The coach is renowned for his possession-based brand of football, all of which centres around Italy international Jorginho dictating play. Teams appear to have gotten wise to the blueprint though and have thus occasionally found Chelsea's attacks easy to contain.

Sarri feels as though the players simply need to get better at the brand of football he is seeking to implement:

At Napoli, when the team did adapt to his style of football, they were exceptional; in 2017-18, when they recorded an astonishing 91 points to finish second in Serie A, they played some of the best football anywhere in Europe. Such an intricate style will naturally require time to implement fully.

After such a poor performance on Wednesday, the visit of the league's bottom side to Stamford Bridge represents a perfect opportunity for Chelsea to get back on track and get better acquainted with the way in which their coach wants them to play.