Chelsea interim coach says misfiring players are only human

LONDON : Interim Chelsea coach Bruno Saltor said his players were only human as he tried to explain their dreadful goalscoring record this season which cost Graham Potter his job as coach and was on display again in a 0-0 draw with Liverpool on Tuesday.

"Yes, we created enough chances to win the game, two goals disallowed," Saltor told reporters. "The boys gave everything, they played with their heart and you can't ask for more."

Chelsea have scored 29 goals in 29 league games this season, and according to Opta have only twice netted fewer at this stage of the campaign, with 23 in 1921-22 and 16 two years later.

Asked whether he could explain the worst scoring record by Chelsea in 99 years, despite the club's huge outlay on new players, Saltor said it was simply a question of taking opportunities with confidence.

"They are human beings and the confidence has to be there," the Spaniard said. "We just need to keep helping the boys. They have been through a lot as well. It's been a tough season for them."

Chelsea are now looking for their third coach of the campaign after German Thomas Tuchel was fired by Chelsea's American owners in September and Potter was dismissed on Sunday after only 31 games in charge and the Blues stuck in mid-table.

Asked whether he thought he would be in charge of Chelsea again when they travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday - their last match before a Champions League quarter-final first leg away at Real Madrid - Saltor shrugged off the question.

"As it stands I expect to go home and rest and focus on the day by day," he said.