Chelsea players upset with Far East tour

Reports from China suggest that Chelsea’s Asian-Russian tour - seen by many as a goodwill and marketing exercise as much as a footballing one - is leaving some of their stars decidedly hot under the collar.

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The Sun declares in this morning’s edition that manager Luiz Felipe Scolari “is facing his first test as Chelsea boss - with dressing-room unrest over the club’s globetrotting pre-season tour.”

The newspaper claims that “several senior players are angry at trekking to China, Malaysia and Russia in sweltering conditions just a few weeks ahead of the Premier League’s August 16 kick-off.”

Tonight, Chelsea play the second game of a 15-day trip when they take on Cheng Du Blades in Macau, seven hours ahead of UK time.

Next week they fly to Malaysia and then on to Moscow, where they will compete in the four-team Railways Cup.

With temperatures at Chelsea’s current base close to 100F, players have apparently been complaining of jet-lag and exhaustion.

One source told The Sun the tour was “the worst possible preparations for the season” and added: “Some players have been unable to sleep and don’t know if they are coming or going.

“It’s only going to get worse with long flights coming to Malaysia then Moscow before everyone packs up again for a four-hour flight back to London. It’s incredible.”

The tour, which was set up before Scolari took over, is not just about the players, however. It has generated much goodwill, the Chinese leg having been designed to raise money for victims of the devastating earthquake that caused mass death and destruction in May. The Chelsea squad have been ecstatically received throughout the tour.

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