Scolari warns his Chelsea stars: Stop all the moaning

No scapegoat: Didier Drogba reacted in a "normal" way after being dropped for the midweek FA Cup tie against Southend. Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari insisted that Nicolas Anelka was in better condition than the Ivorian striker

Steve Griffiths

13 April 2012

Luiz Felipe Scolari has got tough with his unhappy Chelsea stars and told them to stop moaning. The coach has reportedly clashed with Nicolas Anelka, Ricardo Carvalho and Didier Drogba in recent weeks, while John Terry and Frank Lampard are believed to have asked him to make training sessions more intense.

Anelka and Drogba were upset at being dropped and Carvalho is said to be stunned by Scolari's decision to change Chelsea's defensive marking system.

But Scolari is determined to quash the dressing-room unrest and has warned his squad they are paid to play, not pick the team.

"When you sign a contract at a club you don't put that you are first or second in the team. The coach chooses. This is my job to choose 11 players. The job of the player is to play. Finish," he said.

Despite dropping Drogba for Wednesday's FA Cup win at Southend after his poor display in the 3-0 defeat against Manchester United, Scolari is adamant he is not making the Ivory Coast striker a scapegoat.

"I am the victim because I lost 3-0. I and the club," he said. "No player is more of a victim than me or the club.

"Didier is not a scapegoat. I needed to choose one player who is in better condition than the other. For the Southend game I picked Anelka. His reaction was normal as a player."

Drogba is back in the squad for tomorrow's home game against Stoke, as is Carvalho, but Deco misses out again with a calf injury.

Scolari is also likely to be without Joe Cole for at least eight weeks following his knee injury against Southend, with Chelsea expected to confirm the severity of the problem this evening.

Cole's absence will deprive Scolari of one of his main creative threats but the Brazilian knows there is no chance of Chelsea hijacking Manchester City's £100 million move for Kaka.

"I don't have £100m. Maybe many people do but I don't. It is too much for me," Scolari said. "I know when I spend money to buy something for my house if it is possible or impossible for me. For the other clubs I don't know. I need to look only for my house."

After their embarrassing defeat at Old Trafford, Chelsea need a win against Stoke to get their title bid back on track.

And with the Blues having struggled in defence in recent weeks Scolari has been drilling his players to cope with the danger posed by Rory Delap's long throws.

He said: "This team are more dangerous than any in the world. If you look at the statistics Stoke have scored 17 goals and 11 from corners, free-kicks and throw-ins.

"Tomorrow is a good test. We are training to think about our problems and we have solutions. We will mark man-to-man sometimes but use a zone as well."

Meanwhile Frank Lampard insists Chelsea's players aren't worried about failing to qualify for the Champions League this season and remain confident they can still win the League.

The Stamford Bridge club have played in Europe's premier club competition every season since 2003-4, but their place in the top four is under threat.

Lampard admitted the defeat at Old Trafford was hard to take, but said: "We're not looking over our shoulders and I'm looking for us still to be title contenders. I don't think we have to go unbeaten for the rest of the season to win it."

Scolari warns his Chelsea stars: Stop all the moaning

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