Not a changing room you’d want to be in on a bad day
Former Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell has opened up on what life at the club was like under Roman Abramovich.
Sidwell spent 12 months at Stamford Bridge and revealed that Abramovich would only come into the dressing room if they lost a game.
Chelsea’s current co-owners, Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, have been known to regularly enter the dressing room after games and address the playing staff and manager, with Boehly allegedly calling the side “embarrassing” after a 2-1 defeat to Brighton.
Eghbali was also chased by supporters after he refused to answer their questions following their loss against Aston Villa last weekend.
Speaking on TalkSPORT drive, Sidwell gave an insight into what the atmosphere would be like when Abramovich would enter the changing room.
He said: “When I was at Chelsea Roman Abramovich used to come in after matches at Stamford Bridge.
“It depends what the context is and if they’re coming in to address everyone and then what they’re saying, ultimately.
“As a player, I never really saw it as a negative or a positive. After a game you knew if you’d played well or not, but with Roman it was different.
“If he came in, he didn’t have to say anything really. It would be a glare.
“He’d come in after most games and shake everyone’s hands and stand there talking to the coach and that was it – at that time players were getting up and going for showers or getting some food.
“He never really addressed us, but if there was a defeat or a bad performance, he’d come in and it would be ‘oof okay, here we go’.”
Mauricio Pochettino’s side secured their first win in four games on Wednesday night as they beat Brighton in the EFL Cup, which also coincided with the club’s first goal since August.
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