Thomas Tuchel ‘awfully impatient’ to turn Chelsea into title contenders

Thomas Tuchel has said he is “awfully impatient” and does not want to be given time to turn Chelsea into title contenders. Their hopes of catching Manchester City this season are all but over and they are in danger of being dragged into another top-four battle before hosting Tottenham on Sunday.

Chelsea have won four of their past 13 league games and Spurs, who have four in hand on their London rivals, will close the gap to five points if they win at Stamford Bridge.

The pressure on Tuchel has increased, though history shows that Chelsea’s problems are not solely down to him. They have not challenged for the title since winning it under Antonio Conte in 2017 and have become more effective in cup competitions.

They face Liverpool in the final of the Carabao Cup next month and Tuchel, who has been in the job for a year, won the Champions League four months after replacing Frank Lampard last season.

That success seemed to suggest that Chelsea were ready to overtake City, the beaten Champions League finalists, but it is interesting to note that Lampard said Chelsea were not ready to challenge for the title this time last year. Little has changed since then.

The European champions lack continuity because of their cycle of hiring and firing managers, although Tuchel does not want to use that as an excuse. The German struck a defiant tone when he was asked if it is going to be a slow process for Chelsea, who have not built their squad as smoothly as City and Liverpool.

“Maybe, but we will never accept it,” Tuchel said. “Even myself, I will always fight against it. I never said it and even if I can see the reason behind it, that we need time, time, time, we don’t have time and I don’t want to wait.

“I am awfully impatient and