Cech ignores anti-Benitez chants

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech was unaware of any chants directed against Rafael Benitez during their 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech was unaware of any chants directed against Rafael Benitez during their 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

The interim manager was the subject of criticism and abusive banners from the Chelsea crowd, whose dislike for him was only heightened by his explosive interview after the FA Cup win over Middlesbrough, in which he targeted both the supporters and club hierarchy for their lack of support.

Speaking after Chelsea’s morale-boosting success over West Brom, Cech said he did not hear any chanting against Benitez, instead preferring to focus on their support and the team’s performance in the victory.

“I’m so focused on the game that I hardly understand what the people sing or shout or what they do,” the 30-year-old told the club’s website.

“The main point is the people were here, the stadium was full, they were behind us, they supported the team and we won the game.

“We had a good performance and everyone seemed to leave the stadium happy.”

Despite Chelsea’s domination, the European champions could not add to Demba Ba’s first-half opener and were thankful to their goalkeeper for making saves from Steven Reid and Peter Odemwingie.

“Their chances came at the end because they threw everything at us and we hadn’t killed them off,” Cech said.

“This was the story of the season a little bit. We had so many chances and Ben Foster had a great game. They survived until the 80th minute and then they waited patiently for their chances up front, they had to.

“But overall our performance was very good. Everybody was focused. Everybody was concentrated until the last whistle.”