Paul Merson fears Chelsea’s days of attracting an A List manager are over as the club considers its options following the sacking of Liam Rosenior.
Chelsea’s ownership were forced to cut short Rosenior’s 106-day reign last week following an abysmal defeat at Brighton, their fifth in a row without scoring.
Calum McFarlane has taken charge on an interim basis until the end of the season and there was an immediate improvement in Chelsea’s performance at Wembley on Sunday as the Blues booked their place in the FA Cup final next month with a 1-0 win over Leeds United.
Attention has already turned, however, to a permanent successor with Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola under consideration.
The Spaniard is set to leave at the end of the season when his contract expires but Merson has championed the credentials of Eddie Howe.
The former Cherries boss is facing mounting criticism at Newcastle following a poor run of form, but Merson believes Chelsea may well have to settle for a manager of Howe’s calibre given their current plight.
He told Sky Sports News: ‘I hear a few Newcastle fans saying Eddie Howe is under pressure. I’d take Eddie Howe.
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Next Chelsea manager odds
Filipe Luis 5/4
Cesc Fabregas 5/2
Oliver Glasner 10/3
Andoni Iraola 5/1
Xavi Hernandez 15/2
Roberto De Zerbi 25/1
Marco Silva 9/1
Unai Emery 14/1
Frank Lampard 14/1
Fabian Hurzeler 16/1
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‘My problem is at Chelsea now and the way it is and the way it’s all run, I think they’ll be getting a manager who is grateful to be managing Chelsea, instead of a top drawer manager.
‘The days of your Mourinho, Contes, Tuchels, Ancelotti’s those top, top managers where the club are grateful for them being the manager of the club.
‘I think now they’re looking at managers who are grateful to come in and manage Chelsea because of the way they run the club and the way it is.
‘Iraola is a very good manager at Bournemouth, but these kinds of managers will come in and look and go Chelsea have been outrun in every single Premier League game this season. How do you turn that around
‘This is not an ageing football team this is one of the youngest teams in the Premier League. For them to get outrun in every single game and top, top manangers will look at that and think there is a lot to be done.
‘They need a couple of experienced players and a few who shouldn’t be there. This is a big, big job and I’m not sure one of the big boys will take it.’