Maurizio Sarri admits there may be trouble ahead for Chelsea in the early stages of the season as they try to learn the specifics of his style after a disrupted summer.
Sarri shared fears that it could be two months before his team are at full power and has told the board at Stamford Bridge he wants big changes to next year's pre-season schedule. He pointed to a lack of goals and wants to see his team move the ball more quickly.
'I hope the second part of the season will be very good with a lot of points,' said Sarri. 'I expect in the first part of the season some problems. For sure, in this moment, we are not at the top of our potential. We did a pre-season... what can I say? Unusual, maybe. So now we are not at the top.'
Goals were a problem for Chelsea last season, and have not flowed freely in pre-season, with only three in five games, excluding penalty shootouts.
'We have to play at another speed,' said Sarri. 'At present the players think too much about what to do. So the ball doesn't move at the right speed.
'If we are able to play (faster), maybe scoring will not be a problem for us but at this current speed, it may be a problem.'
'I arrived in the middle of July, so the problem was there and I have to accept it but for the future it will be better to change it. They (the board) know it,' said Sarri.
'My perfect programme of pre-season is not completely in line with the programme of the club,' said Sarri. 'So we have to arrive at a compromise.'