Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins has denied recent claims that there has been a split in the dressing room following the sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari.
After the departure of the Brazilian on Monday, there have been suggestions that a number of the senior players were unhappy with his style of management and that this resulted in a difference of opinion amongst the squad.
However, Wilkins has dismissed such talk by saying that it is ‘totally untrue’ and that disagreements happen at ‘every football club’ so there is nothing extraordinary about Chelsea’s current situation.
The one thing that Wilkins hinted at though was that it was the players who were unable to get into the starting eleven that had the problem with Scolari.
The former QPR boss said that people are going to be ‘disgruntled’ if they are not in the team and rightly so. However, the coach has a ‘very difficult job’ because he can ‘only pick 11 people’.
This is more than likely referring to Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka. Both believed that they should be in the team, but Scolari refused to play them together resulting in one of them sitting on the bench.
Overall, it seems there may have been something to the ‘split’ claims, no matter how much Wilkins denies them. He’s not exactly going to come out and say ‘yes, none of the players are together’ is he?
Anyway, looking forward for Chelsea, it is Guus Hiddink that will take over the reigns until the end of the season. The Russian boss will combine his two roles as he tries to put life back into Chelsea’s season.
Should he do just that and Chelsea manage to win something come May, many
football bets could well be placed on him taking the permanent job at Stamford Bridge.
Hiddink may well get a taste for success in England and considering he doesn’t have that many years left as a manager, this is an opportunity that could be too good to turn down. Time will tell.
As for the Chelsea team, well they need to focus themselves for this weekend’s match against Watford in the FA Cup. Wilkins is in charge as they look to book a place in the next round, something the
football odds fully expect them to do.
However, with all that has gone on this week, not much attention would have been placed on the Watford game. Therefore, the Championship side might fancy their chances of causing an upset.
In order to kick-off the post Scolari era on a high though, a comfortable victory is a must for the home side. Then, it is up to Hiddink and co to rescue their season.
