Desailly: Ranieri deserves credit

Marcel Desailly: time to give Claudio credit

14 April 2012

Marcel Desailly today became the first Chelsea player to admit the reign of Claudio Ranieri was over and warmly thanked him for what he has achieved at the club.

The Chelsea captain also warned the new man that it will be a difficult job to follow the popular Italian.

Desailly, who could feature in what is sure to be a player clear-out during the summer, said at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Estoril: "It looks like the chairman wants to change the manager. They've decided to say, 'Thank you Ranieri for all you've done,' and to say goodbye.

"He made small mistakes like everyone else, including the players, but did a good job. We know the mistakes we made and so does the manager.

"It's not confirmed [who will be] the new coach [that] will come in and we need to get someone who is clever, who can handle great and famous players.

"It's going to be difficult, you have to give consideration to everyone in the squad. It's a heavy, heavy job because he will come in at a moment when there is a lot of pressure.

"I always try to be positive. The new manager will be able to improve the performance and attitude of the players and get more from them. He can teach them to be better."

He added: "At the beginning of the season if you had given Abramovich a cheque that said we would finish second in the league and reach the Champions League semi-finals he would've signed straight away. We finally managed to win against Arsenal and have had a great season.

"Abramovich spent £120million to build a team and Ranieri was the right manager for the job. Given the turnover he kept everyone involved and kept the desire. He kept everyone focused.

"We didn't reach the level of Arsenal as a team but were better than them individually and had a good season.

"There was no objective to win something and the chairman did not put pressure on the manager. Thank you Ranieri, you've done very well."

Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports this morning that William Gallas has gone missing after a bust-up with Ranieri.

It is claimed the France defender refused to travel to the match at Old Trafford on Saturday, saying he was not fit. It is reported he has taken a plane to the Caribbean and does not intend to return this season.

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Desailly: Ranieri deserves credit

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