Reece James was sent off against Newcastle (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Reece James showed a complete ‘lack of discipline’ against Newcastle United and ‘lost his head’ before getting sent off.
That’s according to former Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit, who says he ‘expected better’ from the newly-appointed Blues captain.
James was given his marching orders after two quick-fire yellow cards in the north-east.
The first was for kicking the ball away and the second was for tugging back Anthony Gordon.
Chelsea were defeated 4-1 against the Magpies, and James – who had just returned from injury – was furious as he left the field.
But Petit says the defender must show more discipline in his position as captain.
James ‘lost his head’ according to Petit (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
‘I expected more from Reece James against Newcastle. He is the captain of Chelsea, the leader of the team, and he lost his head,’ Petit told Lord Ping.
‘He is an international player playing for one for the biggest clubs in the world, everyone is right to expect more from him.Also, he has spent such a long time on the treatment table. when he is on the pitch, he hast to behave like a captain.
’Reece is an intelligent guy. I can understand his frustration. He is someone that loves the club – he is Chelsea through and through – the way that Chelsea have been over the last couple of years would have hurt him. You can feel that has had a massive impact on the players and the morale in the dressing room.
‘He would have been incredibly frustrated when he was out injured because there is nothing that you can do to help the team on the pitch. In the meantime, when you’re fit, to show that kind of temper, that sends out the wrong message to your team mates and to the manager. I expect much more from Reece James. I expect him to step onto the pitch with a better mentality in the future and to live up to the expectations that Chelsea have placed on him as their captain.’
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