Tuchel on injury situation:
“Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo, Chilwell and Trevoh Chalobah didn’t train today. They are all out for tomorrow. Everyone else is available.”
Thomas Tuchel on Trevoh Chalobah: “We need more examinations to see how bad the injury is.”
Thomas Tuchel on West Ham: “They were fighting for these [European] places. Very good team, very good coach. They play with a lot of energy, positivity in what they are doing. They did not have too many changes. They believe in themselves. It’s a tough match and team to play against, but we are tough team. we need to be on our top level to have a chance to win.”
Thomas Tuchel on Ralf Rangnick’s comments saying Blues offered job in Feb: “Maybe after our draw against Wolves [laughs]. Maybe the bosses saw the Wolves draw and said ‘he doesn’t know what he’s doing’ and bring Ralf in. It’s a nice job to have in football to manage Chelsea.”
Thomas Tuchel: “It’s another challenge. We had a very exciting week with Leicester, Juventus, then Man Utd. Big names, big challenges, a lot of reward. Then Ballon d’Or selection and Wednesday evening game against Watford. A lot of distractions and different approaches. There’s simply no time to dream, to lose focus, we need to refocus straight away.”
Thomas Tuchel on Romelu Lukaku starting vs West Ham: “I will not tell you because that is part of the lineup where I want the opponents to know very late. He wants, and is eager to start.”
Thomas Tuchel: “We should try to reach our top level. Watford caused us problems, so we had to focus on not giving too many big chances, a mental game to hang in there.”
Thomas Tuchel on West Ham clash: “We will have some changes again.”
Thomas Tuchel on Saul Niguez: “He’s still adapting, he had a yellow card and was a bit shy to play all-in in duels. We lacked physicality as he didn’t want to risk a red card which was a good thing. I think he could play in a wing-back role for us. He’s very strong in arriving in the box, finishing and timing, and arriving on second ball. He could be a good fit. In the next games we may have to try it as Chilly is out long-term.”
Thomas Tuchel on Hakim Ziyech: “I like him, I can feel he feels better. He smiles, he’s happy, he’s decisive. He’s had huge influence from the bench. He’s in a good shape, form, state of mind and we want him to be influential. I won’t tell you if he starts tomorrow.”
Thomas Tuchel on Reece James and Jorginho returning: “It’s massive. Reece is the specialist and Jorgi is the guy left from Kova and NG in the three. I’m happy that Ruben steps in, but we are happy that Jorgi is back and we can’t wait for Kova and NG come back. It’s good that they are back. We will never complain. We are here to find solutions.”
