CAHILL
Gary Cahill has warned critics not to write him off just
yet.
The 30-year-old defender experienced
a torrid start to the season following a series of high-profile mistakes that
culminated in gifting Arsenal the opening goal in a crushing 3-0 defeat back in
September.
Since then, however, Chelsea have
gone 410 minutes in the Premier League without being breached and Cahill has
conceded only two goals in seven appearances for his club and England.
Both of those came in the recent EFL
Cup defeat to West Ham meaning the other six have been clean sheets.
‘Don't write me off,’ Cahill warned
after Chelsea’s 0-2 victory away to Southampton moved them within a point of
Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool at the top of the table.
‘It's easy to
criticise someone after certain games and it's fair enough. Sometimes you
haven't had a good game. But people are very quick to write people off.
'If you are at the top level you
have to be mentally strong. For me it was a matter of time before I turned the
corner and got back to the performance levels that I should be at.
'The last four games I'm back to where I should be, I'm
playing well, I feel good. We talk about character of the team, but sometimes
you have to show character yourself and that's what I feel like I have done.
CHELSEA'S SOLID DEFENCE
After being embarrassed by Arsenal at the Emirates back in September,
Antonio Conte overhauled his defence and solidity ensued...
October 1 - Chelsea 2-0 Hull
October 15 - Chelsea 3-0 Leicester
October 23 - Chelsea 4-0
Man United
October 30 - Chelsea 2-0
S'hampton
‘Criticism is one thing, but to
write someone off is very dangerous when you have a mindset as strong as mine,
especially when I think I can work hard to turn the corner and come out
again.’
Chelsea’s defensive form - and
Cahill's - has coincided with manager Antonio Conte switching to his preferred
but unorthodox 3-4-3 formation in which Cahill is flourishing.
The player, who is playing on the
left of the three defenders, admits he has had to get used to running more to
cover out wide compared to when he plays in a conventional back four with
another centre-back.
Cahill has also spent plenty of time assessing his
early-season errors, which, he feels, has benefitted his resurgence.
‘I will never go away from a game
having played badly and dust it off as if it doesn't matter,’ he said. ‘That's
just not me. Everyone deals with things differently, but I certainly
reflect.
'I sometimes beat myself up
personally, but in terms of my frame of mind, when things don't go well, I want
to be there.
‘But the manager comes into this as
well. There was a time, maybe after Arsenal away, where I could have been
pulled out of the side, but he showed belief in me.
'That is the most important crucial
time because when you have a bad spell or a bad game, the first thing you want
to do is play again.
I'm not the kind of person to shy
away and think 'things aren't going well so I'll take a back seat. I have
turned the corner, produced performances in the last few weeks and I'm
pleased.’
No comments:
Post a Comment