‘Something’s not right at Chelsea’: Tuchel’s future questioned after Brighton draw

Jamie O’Hara believes Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel could face the sack if results fail to improve quickly.

The Blues’ winless run in the Premier League extended to four games with a disappointing 1-1 draw at Brighton on Wednesday night.

Tuchel’s side were underwhelming yet again and, having already fallen out of the title race, may soon be looking over their shoulders at the battle for top-four.

The Chelsea boss cut a visibly frustrated figure as his attacking players, most notably record-signing Romelu Lukaku, were unable to inspire, while his defence conceded for the tenth time in eleven league matches.

Even Hakim Ziyech looked glum after opening the scoring and the Moroccan was seen having a heated conversation with Lukaku following a misplaced pass to the striker.

O’Hara, the former Spurs midfielder, believes there is a bad feeling in the Chelsea camp, suggesting Lukaku’s controversial interview with the Italian media last month may be the cause.

And despite winning the FIFA Men’s Coach of the Year award on Monday night, Tuche’sl future was called into question.

O’Hara said: “When Tuchel came in, they won the Champions League, and going into this season they looked like a proper side.

“Trying to break Chelsea down was almost impossible. You didn’t score against them.

“Lukaku at the start of the season was scoring goals, he was flying, and you’re thinking, ‘This Chelsea side looks dangerous’.

“All of a sudden, since that interview, I know they’ve had some injuries as well, but they just don’t look the same team.

“They look easier to score against, they look open, they’re not fighting for each other, there looks to be little arguments happening on and off the pitch.

“Something’s just not right. You know what Roman Abramovich is like with managers. If he sees it going south, he’ll change it quickly.”

O’Hara added: “If he thinks it’s going in the wrong direction, he will get rid of you. He’s done it before and he will do it again.”

However, Wales legend Dean Saunders quickly sprung to Tuchel’s defence.

When asked if the German could face the sack, Saunders told talkSPORT: “No, I think he’s done great. He came in and organised them and they started winning, he looked the real deal.

“Now, I think he’s a winner, you can see he’s only interested in winning trophies, but he’s got the hump.

“He’s got the hump with Lukaku, he’s got the hump with not being top of the league and not having his own way – and it’s good. He’s demanding it.

“It gets to the point where you want to play on the opposite side to the manager! He’s getting frustrated and it rubs off on the players.”