Chelsea hero Mario Melchiot has taken aim at manager Maurizio Sarri's man-management.

The Dutchman believes the former Napoli manager isn't helping himself by questioning the mental strength of his players.

“I always say this, mentality issue or whatever the fact is, those are the kind of key things of the coach because the mental strength and the prep is down to the coach," he told the Daily Star.

“When it comes to a player making a mistake, that isn't down to the coach. If I'm on the pitch and I make a mistake, an error, then it's the individual.

“The team effort and the team motivation, that is why you have a coach.

“He said that before that he didn't like the motivation of the team or it was very hard for him to motivate them. Next thing you know, a month later, he said: 'I love the way my team is, the way their vision is now.'

"So that gets a little bit bumpy and that's always gonna work against you. I don't think it's ever gonna be in favour for a coach when he goes against the mental strength of his team, because the mental strength of his team is in the palm of his hands."