After narrowly escaping with a win against 18th-placed Cardiff, Chelsea's next game is against 15th-placed Brighton, another relegation battler with nothing to lose and everything to win.
Needless to say, the fans weren’t happy on Sunday. Despite the win, Sarri’s lineup choices and the persistently uninspiring football is causing plenty of consternation in the stands and online. The away support spent much of the second half chanting against the manager, and that’s something we haven’t really seen since the Interim Daze.
Ahead of the prospect of facing an entire stadium full of hostile fans, Sarri has called for a bit of patience, short in supply as it may be, if not for himself, then at least the players.
“I like to stay on the pitch. I enjoy during the training of course. As I said before I am not happy but can understand, it’s normal I think. We need to improve, play better and want to try change their opinion.
”I think that they have to help the players, during the match. After they can say anything but during I hope they can help my players.
”I think we are a group and at the moment I think we are a good group so I think that it’s not helpful for my players. For me it isn’t a problem, I am 60 so I can understand but when I was 25 it was probably different.”
As many will tell Sarri, one way to improve would be to play Callum Hudson-Odoi. The 18-year-old may not be a superstar yet, but he provides a certain level of youthful endeavor that could inspire some fun amid the dour sideways passing of “Sarri-ball” as we know it.
With Sarri making such a big deal about fitness levels, could Hudson-Odoi actually be in line for a Premier League start?
"First of all, the beginning of the season in pre-season after four or five training I realised that Callum was really a player with a great potential. In that moment he wasn’t ready to play at this level but during the season he has improved and is now ready to play but I decided at the start of the season that he has to stay with us and I put him in the squad. I know very well Callum and I want him to improve more because the potential is there. Callum is always in my mind, in my opinion he is our future and now he is ready to play.
"Probably he will start tomorrow or in the next match.
"Yes of course, but first I want to see the condition of all the players. The condition of Willian, Pedro, Eden, all the wingers, but of course he is in my mind"
One player who definitely will not be starting against Brighton is Marcos Alonso who has been ruled out due to a hamstring injury.
"We have a little problem with Alonso and his hamstring so I think he has to rest for three or four days."
Regardless of who the manager is, who the players are, and who the owner is, for 90 minutes on Wednesday, it’s time to support the club and, as the song goes, keep the blue flag flying high!