Chelsea interim boss Rafael Benitez defends Branislav Ivanovic over errors

15 January 2013 08:13
Rafael Benitez has given his backing to Branislav Ivanovic after the Chelsea defender's costly errors against Swansea.

The Serbia international was responsible for both of the Swans' goals in their 2-0 Capital One Cup semi-final first leg victory last week. But Chelsea interim boss Benitez insists that he will not admonish players for genuine mistakes, only for not following his tactical instructions.

"The first thing I did after the game last week was tell him that I am not worried about a player making a mistake," said Benitez, quoted in the Daily Mirror.

"I am only worried about a player not trying to do things in the way we want to do things. But Branislav is a fantastic player.

"He knew he had made individual mistakes, but at the same time he was trying to do his best and that's fine.

"Branislav was really disappointed, as he's quite emotional. When he makes mistakes they affect him maybe too much.

"But I told him, 'I'm not blaming anybody for a mistake - but I will blame you if you don't do something we've been practising in a training session'.

"He said 'sorry' to the other players, but when you try to do your best and make a mistake you don't need to.

"It just shows he's a great person and pro. He's someone who has passion and I have no hesitation picking him."

Source: team_talk