Roman Abramovich told Chelsea's under-performing players that he didn't want to sack Jose Mourinho during an address at their Cobham training ground on Friday afternoon.
Abramovich was on site to watch Friday morning's session after the champions' departing manager had returned to Cobham to bid farewell to his former charges and thank them for their hard work earlier in the day.
Chelsea owner Abramovich then oversaw the preparations for Saturday's clash with Sunderland at Stamford Bridge, led by Steve Holland and Eddie Newton, and spoke to the players in his native Russian before it was all translated into English.
Abramovich, who fired Mourinho on Thursday at the club's training ground, told the players he had been reluctant to sack the most successful manager in the club's history.
He also added that he was left with little option but to fire the Portuguese coach after Chelsea were beaten for the ninth time this season in the Barclays Premier League by high-flying Leicester City on Monday evening.
Abramovich went on to tell the players that it is a fresh start and that he expected immediate improvements following the decision to replace Mourinho.
The club have been in talks with Guus Hiddink for several weeks about taking the job on an interim basis and he is expected to watch Saturday's clash at Stamford Bridge from the stands.
Source: Dailymail.
No comments:
Post a Comment