Chelsea legend Graeme Le Saux believes struggling striker Fernando Torres will succeed at Stamford Bridge this season, he revealed in an exclusive interview with FootballFanCast.
The Spanish striker has been singled out for some criticism this season from the Blues fans but it seems Rafa Benitez is happy to keep rotating him with new boy Demba Ba.
Le Saux knows all too well the psychology of footballers can be complicated but he feels Torres can still be pleased with his contribution this season.
“You get players that go to clubs and find it very easy, fit in straight away but then you get players that take longer or maybe never do so,” Le Saux said.
“Fernando has worked and continues to work extremely hard to show how good he really is.
“He has scored goals this season and created plenty too.
“It is about Torres coming off of the pitch and feeling he has done well.
“Whether he has scored or not, if he is happy with himself then he will continue to develop.
“Psychology in football is huge at the moment and you can begin to doubt yourself.”
The arrival of Ba was originally supposed to help Torres and lift some weight from his shoulders as the main striker at the club.
Ba has settled in immediately in West London and is now considered by most to be the Blues’ best striker.
Le Saux admits Torres has got to start improving but with only two out and out strikers at Chelsea, he is still likely to play most weeks.
“I think where he finds it difficult is when teams sit very deep and he struggles to get in behind them,” Le Saux said.
“But he is still part of the jigsaw and I think we are still trying to work out how to best use the whole squad.
“Ultimately if a team starts to win back to back games then it begins to pick itself but in modern football there is always going to squad rotation.
“As a defender I was under a completely different pressure, if I made a mistake the other team could have scored a goal within seconds.
“If you can look at yourself in the mirror and say you are a good player then it is good.”
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2013 UEFA Women’s Champions League final ambassador Faye White joined Chelsea FC ambassador Graeme Le Saux at Stamford Bridge today to launch the tickets going on sale.
Tickets for the 2013 UEFA Women’s Champions League final, to be played on Thursday 23 May at Stamford Bridge, for more information please visit www.chelseafc.com/