Exclusive: Mark Schwarzer Discusses Chelsea's Title Chances, The Club's Goalkeeper Situation, His Playing Days & More

How do you think Chelsea have started the season? Do you think they've got the right squad to challenge for the league title?

I think it's going to be tough for them to challenge for the league because we've seen time and time again, certainly with the likes of Manchester City over the last four or five years, you don't get many chances to stay with them. They don't slip up very often and Chelsea at this stage, like quite a few of the bigger teams, have slipped up too often this season already and will find it very difficult to compete for the Premier League title.

At this moment in time, it looks like it is kind of a two-horse race between Arsenal and Man City. They are the two that are there to try and chase down. It's not to say that it's not a possibility because it certainly is, I just feel that certainly with Manchester City and the way that they perform, the squad of players they have and their manager, it's less likely they're going to fall away and drop too many points.

For Chelsea, I think the goal is to finish in that top four.

What have you made of Kepa Arrizabalaga's return to the starting lineup and where do you think this leaves Edouard Mendy?

I was a little bit surprised that he was back in as number one, however, obviously Mendy has been out injured and then Kepa came in and did really, really well. So, in one sense, it's great that a manager will give players opportunities. I always find with goalkeepers though that the best scenario is having a clear number one and knowing where people sit.

But I think over the last two years since Mendy joined, Kepa has actually improved as a goalkeeper as he has been out of the limelight since Mendy has been at the club. Their working relationship is obviously very good, so, therefore, Kepa's been able to settle and he's playing far better football than he's ever played since being at the club and I think he deserves to be number one at the club. He got injured at the weekend, so we'll see how long that keeps him out and this is now Mendy's opportunity to try to regain the position.

Teenage goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina joined the Blues from Chicago Fire in August but was sent back on loan until January. He has already played more than 40 games in MLS aged just 18 - how soon do you think he will be ready to integrate himself into the Chelsea squad?

I haven't seen a lot of him at all but having played 40 games in the MLS being just 18 is vital. I think it's incredible to have that much experience at such a young age. He needs to keep doing that and playing at that level. He's still young enough that he can afford to be away from the club. Maybe the next step for him would be another step up, maybe the step would be to come to Europe and then go on loan and play week in week out. For his development, it's so important that he continues to play football. We see too often young guys get signed by the big clubs then kind of just fall through the cracks a little bit not getting first-team football or experience and development kind of gets stunted a little bit.

It'll be an interesting one moving forward on where he goes but it all depends on what happens at the top whether Kepa and Mendy stay. It really depends on how Graham Potter sees that whole setup and whether he decides he needs to make a change and bring in Slonina towards the end of the season. We'll have to wait and see.

Were you surprised to see the departure of Thomas Tuchel, and do you believe the appointment of Graham Potter was the right one?

I was surprised I have to admit. I think a lot of people were surprised. He's done an incredible job at Chelsea but a lot of it was down to the new ownership, change of the old guard and the owner really making his own stamp on how he sees the club moving forward. It's a real shame because I think Thomas Tuchel did an absolutely tremendous job at Chelsea.

I think Graham Potter has done a great job whether he was at Swansea or Brighton. The football he plays is well-known and well documented, he's done well at those clubs. It's a big step up [moving to Chelsea], it's a different type of scenario. He's trying to change the complete ethos and style of football that Chelsea have played previously and it's going to take time. He's only lost one in ten and I don't think anywhere he's gone the response has been immediate. The question is how long will the fans be patient, certainly the fans with Chelsea because it's a club that is used to winning things.

Chelsea take on Arsenal this weekend. How do you think they will fare against the Gunners?

I think Chelsea can get a result. They're going to have to play a lot better than they did last weekend [against Brighton & Hove Albion]. They got found out and outsmarted a little bit. They need more energy on the pitch - I don't like to think at a club like Chelsea, the players there don't have the desire to go out there and win a game, I think they do. I just think Brighton had a lot more energy and were slightly better organised and tactically got it spot on.

So for Chelsea on the weekend they're going to have to improve drastically because you've got an Arsenal side who are flying and high in confidence and playing some really good football. Their record at Stamford Bridge is not bad either certainly of late, so I think it's going to be a tough one but Chelsea have to improve a lot if they are to get a result.

What was it like playing alongside and also being managed by Gareth Southgate? Did you feel that he had the potential to go on and manage the England national team?

I always knew he wanted to go into management and thought he'd do well but didn't think he'd go on and manage the national team certainly not at this early stage in his career, so I think he's done a great job. Some people said he was there through default - right place, right time. I don't think that matters. I think what matters is when given the opportunity you make the most of it and he has certainly deserved to be there over the last couple of years of the way he's made the team perform and changed the whole setup and personality. Players wanting to play for the national team is the first time in a long, long time that I can remember in the last few years.

After being at Fulham and playing regular football, how hard was the decision to leave for Chelsea?

The decision to leave Fulham was out of my hands - they didn't offer me a new contract, so I was out of contract at the end of the season. The decision to go to Chelsea was a difficult one because of that factor alone - playing regular first-team football - that was the only reason it was a difficult decision for me. When you take the club, the manager, the players you're playing with, it's a no-brainer but at the stage in my career I went there even though I was 40 years old, I still felt I could play at the highest level. It was a difficult decision to make but one I certainly don't have any regrets about one bit.

How did the move come about in the summer of 2013? 

When the season had ended, I knew that Jose Mourinho was joining the club and that he was looking to bring in another experienced goalkeeper. Ross Turnbull's contract was up, he was leaving the club and they wanted to bring in someone more senior and also who had a lot more experience. So obviously I fit the bill and I was around the corner - I didn't have to move, it was an easy move. I had the experience of playing in the Premier League, [two] World Cups and playing in Europe, albeit not Champions League. Through my agent speaking to the club and the club making their interest known that they were looking to try to sign me.

Just through a phone call really and then having a conversation with Jose Mourinho himself about where he saw how I would fit in and during that time I was obviously still playing for the national team, so my concern was getting enough football to play at the next World Cup in 2014.

In relation to that famous game at Anfield in 2014, what was said before and after the game in the dressing room? Was Steven Gerrard's slip mentioned?

From my perspective and in the changing room, I don't think we really talked about the slip at all. There was nothing about it. I think the slip's been made into a far bigger deal later on. Yes, Steven Gerrard slipped over, and we scored a goal from it. I think the way that we set up, the way we played the game, I thought we were in a good position and difficult to break down, we nullified pretty much everything Liverpool threw at us. I had a bit to do but I wasn't overly worked. We defended really well and the longer the game went on the more chances we were getting.

I don't think Liverpool lost because of that slip alone, I think the way that they played was the reason they lost - not because of, and it's not even a mistake, it's just an unfortunate incident that happened. Someone slipping over in my opinion is not a mistake.

Mohamed Salah started that game. His move to Chelsea didn't go as planned, but what were your impressions of him at the time and could you tell that he had the potential to go on to achieve what he has?

No, [laughs] not at all. You knew he had an ability, you knew he had this talent. He was only 21 years old when he came, and everything was really new to him. The move away from Switzerland to London was a really big move for him. I think he was finding it hard to settle - one of the main reasons would've been because he felt that he didn't hit the ground running in terms of the opportunities he got in the first team. There were quite a few games where he started or came on and he couldn't take the chances he got and I think the pressure built more and more that went on.

People forget how good of a squad we had at the time and how much competition there were for places. Mo and Kevin De Bruyne for that matter were two of the youngest places that were there fighting for those forward positions, and they were finding it difficult to get regular football.

There were rumours that Jose Mourinho ensured you received a winner's medal for the 2014/15 campaign. Is this true?

I didn't, no. To be perfectly honest, I didn't actually want one and it's not out of any disrespect whatsoever. I just felt that I contributed in such a small way, leaving six months before the end of the season. I didn't play a game or even on the bench for any of the Premier League games so didn't feel any contribution. It was a nice gesture to make but I certainly had no expectation of receiving one.

What was it like being a part of the Leicester City team that won the Premier League? At what point did you start to believe that the team could really win it?

I don't think anyone in that changing room or anyone outside the club felt that it would be possible for Leicester to win the league. Just saying it now, you know it sounds ridiculous that it even happened.

It wasn't until later on in the season I don't think. For me, one of the first moments, the belief that maybe made us believe that we could go on and do something was when we beat Manchester City away. It was towards the end of February but then the next week after we went to Arsenal and lost with the last kick of the game. That belief the guys gained with the win at Man City was huge. The way in which we lost the game against Arsenal was also a telling moment because the response in the changing room after the game was obviously a bit of disappointment at losing the game but it was more of shrugging the shoulders and going 'okay we lost the game, off we go again' and we then went on to win games again, so the way that the guys picked themselves up was because no one felt the pressure so they could go on and carry playing with freedom and enjoying the moment.

The result of Spurs drawing away at Chelsea, we still had two games to play after that game. I think if Spurs had won, that was potentially the moment where there may have been the nerves coming in from the players because knowing you are two games away and Spurs are hot on your tail. That was the moment though obviously where it didn't matter anymore. The guys had won the title. If that result had gone differently then there would have been a real lot of pressure, but I still believe they would have gone on and won it from that position.

Having got 109 caps for the Australian national team, what was your proudest moment during your 20-year international career?

It has to be in 2005 when we qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 32 years. I think for all of us and anyone involved that night would see it as one of the greatest moments in Australian sporting history, which says something considering the rich sporting history that we have in Australia. The fact that many of us were involved in many failed campaigns before that, so felt that maybe it would just never happen in our playing careers. To finally do it and then to help elevate the game in the country was a pivotal moment for everyone.