Scolari feels strain of expectation

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Bolton 0 Chelsea 2IT WAS difficult to detect from his touchline gesticulations, or the glimpses of agitation he displayed when the opposition threatened to score, but Luiz Felipe Scolari was exhausted on Saturday.

The 23rd game in his sixth months as Chelsea manager - which included a run going into this match of two draws and a defeat that had seen his team lose the Premier League leadership and put their qualification for the Champions League knockout stage in doubt - had taken its toll on this most effervescent of men, so much so that he decided not to attend the post-match briefing.

The official line was that the Brazilian was enjoying a break from the stresses of conversing in a foreign language but the club's assistant coach, Ray Wilkins, who took questions in his place, revealed more to the absence.

"I saw a bit of tiredness in him (Scolari) today," he said. "Overall his mood is good but he's bound to feel pressure. We are in a pressure business and we have to get results. Felipe is no exception. He's won a World Cup with Brazil but he's still expected to deliver. It's not easy and he does get quite tired."

Looking back, the signs of fatigue have been there. Scolari reacted with uncharacteristic anger to last Sunday's defeat to Arsenal, accusing the referee Mike Dean of "killing" his team after he allowed Robin van Persie's offside equaliser to stand, and then with snappiness on Friday when a journalist pointed out that his record so far at Stamford Bridge compares unfavourably with that of his predecessors.

The 60-year-old manager, it appears, has developed the tetchiness of a toddler kept up past his bed-time. "The biggest thing Felipe has noticed since taking over club football in England is that there's no games where you can say 'I might get three points here'," added Wilkins. "Every game we play we have to organise ourselves meticulously. That's exactly what he does and it takes it out of you. Today you've got me but, trust me, he will be back."

Any anxiety Scolari may be feeling at this stage of his reign will have been soothed by this result, one which saw Chelsea set a new English league record of 11 consecutive away victories and more importantly, remain on the heels of Liverpool. The manager will have been pleased with his team's performance in the first half when, having survived an early scare after Kevin Davies's glaring close-range miss, Chelsea threatened to run riot.

The visitors went two up in 21 minutes, first through Nicolas Anelka's diving header, the Frenchman's 99th goal in the Premier League and his first at the Reebok since leaving Bolton in January, and then through a spectacular scissors kick by Deco. The mood of those in blue suggested more goals but the hosts deserve praise for their refusal to capitulate and an improved second-half display during which a comeback appeared possible but never came.

But Chelsea were undoubtedly the better side and having now faced each of the top-four sides, Bolton manager, Gary Megson, feels sure they will eventually become the team to beat in this most absorbing of title races.

"Anybody who finishes above Chelsea will win the league," he said. "They're difficult to play against, they get crosses in, all the players are comfortable on the ball and they've got Anelka, who is as good as you get in terms of scoring goals."

There was also a note of sympathy for his weary counterpart: "It must be a culture shock when you come from the continent and see not just the amount of games you have to play here but also the intensity of them."

And the challenges keep on coming. The London club face CFR Cluj tomorrow in a Champions League match they must win to be sure of qualifying for the last 16 of this year's competition.

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