Di Matteo: I’m not afraid to axe Fernando Torres

Posted Saturday, October 27, 2012 by The Sun

Di Matteo: I’m not afraid to axe Fernando Torres
STRIKING A BALANCE ... Di Matteo will stick by his rotation policy

ROBERTO DI MATTEO has warned Fernando Torres he is not drop-proof.

Chelsea’s £50million striker is still struggling to live up to his billing — and mammoth price tag — since joining the Blues from Liverpool in January 2011.

Torres was hauled off with 20 minutes to go in Tuesday’s dismal 2-1 Champions League defeat at Shakhtar Donetsk, when his team desperately needed a goal.

In fact the Spaniard has not scored a Premier League goal for more than a month heading into tomorrow’s crunch clash with title rivals Manchester United.

Blues boss Di Matteo said: “Strikers are instinctive, it is difficult to understand what goes through their minds.

“But I have shown in the past with my rotation of the team that I have done that with everybody.”

Torres, 28, has started every one of Chelsea’s 15 competitive fixtures so far this season.

He has scored four league goals but the spectre of rotation is looming.

Chelsea’s record signing admitted recently that he endured such a bad time under Andre Villas-Boas following his big-money move last season that at times he “didn’t care” whether the team won or lost.

Di Matteo, though, leapt to the defence of his troubled star, who he is working on to make him love Chelsea again.

The Italian added: “Fernando has always cared but he had a difficult time.

“This season it’s different. He is playing well, looking good and I would expect that to continue.

“I have no concerns about Fernando. He always works hard for the team and, whether he scores or not, he always contributes. He is very useful for attacking combinations.

“We can’t just rely on one player to score anyway. We want to share out the goalscoring responsibilities and Fernando has been training well.

“Maybe Tuesday was not his best game but it’s not a question of him being happy or not. He is in a good state of mind.

“We now need to move forward as we are talking too much about the past.

“Yes, Fernando had a difficult season last term. He made that clear.

“But rather than mulling over the past, let us look to the present and future.

“The facts this season are different. Fernando has scored four goals in the league and one in the Capital One Cup so far.

“If you see the games we have played, it’s one in two.”