RAY WILKINS has called on Roman Abramovich to give Gus Poyet the job of leading Chelsea into a new era at the end of this season.
The Chelsea legend believes that with Abramovich’s first-choice Pep Guardiola now enticed away from Stamford Bridge by Bayern Munich, former Blues hero Poyet is the only man who can heal the wounds tearing the club apart.
The effervescent Uruguyan is in charge at Brighton, where in three years he has built a side playing fluent, skilful football which he has taken into the Championship. They lie just outside the play-off places.
More important though for Wilkins than the fact that Poyet, 45, is one of the brightest young managers in the game is the fact that he is a former Chelsea hero who spent four seasons at the club from 1997 to 2001, scoring 36 goals in 105 appearances.
Another dismal night at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday saw Chelsea throw away a 2-0 lead to draw with Southampton. Interim manager Rafa Benitez was once again blamed as his team were booed off the field.
Wilkins believes that only someone steeped in Chelsea lore can unite the club – and that man is Poyet.
Wilkins, a former captain and assistant manager, said: “If I was Roman Abramovich I would employ Gus. He is a young manager with new ideas. He is the right type of guy to manage Chelsea. He knows the club inside out from his time as a player there, and the fans still love him.
Benitez is seemingly blowing his chances of landing the job permanently with every home game, and the fans are growing more hostile as results, certainly at the Bridge, fail to impress.
But Wilkins believes Benitez still has a chance – if he wins a cup and finishes third in the Premier League – to land the job permanently. But the fans need to give him a chance.
“There is a frosty environment, and it is not helping the younger players,” he said. “They expect the place to be vibrant, but it isn’t. Every decision is questioned.
“But they should give Rafa a chance. He is going through a sticky period with the fans. And it is not his fault. He didn’t ask for the job, he was offered it.
“The atmosphere is not getting any better. It is affecting the players. It is becoming difficult for them to play there.
“Confidence seems to drain out of them the minute something goes wrong. Without John Terry the leadership qualities are not there. When he comes back it will be a massive help. You can’t capitulate because you lose a goal.
“For Rafa it is not easy to stand there and get dog’s abuse. But the players have to take some responsibility. They have to go out and do it.
“If Rafa wins a trophy and finishes third, I still think he has a chance of the job.” Guardiola’s rejection of Chelsea after three approaches from Abramovich is a blow.
But Wilkins does not feel that Abramovich’s hair-trigger sacking policy has made Chelsea an unmanageable club.
He said: “No one knows what Roman will do. The man has spent nearly a billion pounds on the club. If I had spent that I would be doing what I want to do.
“Whoever takes that job knows what they are going into. Every year they change the manager, but every year they win something. So who’s to say he is wrong?
“But I don’t detect that the fans are turning against Roman. The atmosphere is not right, but Abramovich has given these supporters a lot of cheer.