Maurizio Sarri Considering Hiring Sports Psychologist After Hinting at 'Other Reasons' for Defeat

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has revealed he is open to the possibility of hiring a sports psychologist to help get his misfiring Blues players back on track.

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has revealed he is open to the possibility of hiring a sports psychologist to help get his misfiring Blues players back on track.

The west London side suffered their second defeat in the space of four Premier League games on Saturday, as Leicester snatched all three points at Stamford Bridge.

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Former England international Jamie Vardy scored the only goal of the game to hand the visitors an away win, with Chelsea left to rue a number of missed opportunities.

The result and performance left Sarri insisting that the defeat was not because of any tactical issues, and claimed there was perhaps 'another reason' to explain his side's loss.

Sarri revealed (as quoted by the Daily Mirror): "I had a sports psychologist 15 years ago in Italy, but it was difficult, because the clubs were not ready then.

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"But now we can talk about it - why not? The reason we lost was not our physical condition."

He added: "On Saturday, we were very good for 55 minutes and then two minutes after the goal we were in trouble. So I think there is another reason. We reacted a little shocked and with mental confusion. We had to only keep playing like we did before the goal, there was time to recover."

The defeat left Chelsea 11 points behind current Premier League leaders Liverpool, with centre-back Antonio Rudiger echoing his manager's comments and dismissing his side's title chances.

He admitted: "It's a disaster. We don't talk about the title any more. If we can't win these games, we can't compete. With all due respect, if we don't win these kind of matches, we don't need to speak about Liverpool or City."