Thomas
Tuchel has insisted there is "no need" for anyone at Chelsea to apologise to
him after the club's withdrawal from the breakaway Super League.
The Chelsea boss admitted the fan protests in response to the competition
affected Tuesday's performance in the goalless Premier League draw against
Brighton at Stamford Bridge.
But the German is keen to put the affair behind him and the club as he
prepares his players for a crucial game against West Ham at the London
Stadium on Saturday - live on Sky Sports - with the Blues only ahead of
their London rivals in fourth place in the table courtesy of a superior goal
difference.
"Yes it has been distracting, but it's the owner's club, it's not my club,"
said Tuchel.
"I'm part of the club, but it's the owner and the club's decision, and now
they change that decision.
"There's no need to apologise to me directly, my job is to adapt to the
circumstances. And were we distracted? Yeah clearly.
"Me personally I arrived in a state of mind on Tuesday at the stadium that
was clearly not the mindset that I normally arrive in, for a match.
"But that's already in the past, and like I said, I don't think they need to
apologise to me.
"I had so much information that until the day of the match and after the
match, I gave myself the luxury of not reading or watching any news about
anything.
"The thing [Super League] is off and the situation is now clear and that
helps me as a coach to allow me to prepare for an important match.
"I have had enough pre-match and post-match questions about it and now it
does not even exist, so I am happy to move on."
Tuchel is also convinced Chelsea supporters will not have lost trust in the
club's hierarchy over the Super League affair, pointing instead to the
positive changes owner Roman Abramovich has instigated in his time at the
club.
Asked if bridge-building work between the six 'breakaway' clubs and fans
will be difficult, Tuchel added: "No.
"Because I think that the people and the fans know very, very well that it's
also the credit from the owners who improve their clubs, build strong clubs
and make the most competitive league in the world.
"So I think they appreciate that very, very well. People can read very
clearly also and can divide one thing from another, and they express their
opinion on this decision.
"They were absolutely not happy, the fans obviously.
"But I don't think it affects, in general, the opinion of what, for example,
our owner of this club does for the community, does for the academy, for the
women's team and for the first team.
"I'm sure that everybody sees what our owner and the owners of the 'big six'
clubs do.
"They are a big part of the competition [Premier League] and this is the
competition everyone envies."
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