RUUD GULLIT has revealed he never wanted to be Chelsea manager.
The Dutchman succeeded Glenn Hoddle in the Stamford Bridge dugout in 1996 as player-manager.
Hoddle had departed to take the England job and fans and the Blues squad wanted Gullit to replace him.
Gullit, 62, was unsure about taking on the role as he wanted to keep playing.
He revealed his team-mates “begged” him to take the post, so he begrudgingly accepted.
Gullit said on Sky Bet’s Stick to Football: “I never wanted to get into management – I just got dragged into it by Chelsea fans and the boys wanted me to train them because Glenn Hoddle left to go to the national team.
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“They were begging me to do it. I didn’t want to do it because I knew it would be the end of my playing career. Also, you get a different relationship with the guys that you played with. I had to think about it.
“I did it because I thought I would be good in it and the season did start very well.
“You have to make a good decision – the only thing that was bad about this job was the certainty of knowing that you’ll eventually get sacked. That is just what you know for sure. It’s not a nice feeling when you get sacked, but it is what it is.
“A lot of things happen behind your back and around you, which you have no influence on – and that’s what I hate about the job.”
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Gullit won the FA Cup in his first season in charge, before being sacked the following campaign with Chelsea in second place.
The club claimed there was a dispute over wages, but Gullit later revealed he felt betrayed.
He said: “It felt like a betrayal by the people around me.
“It was horrible. It was a terrible feeling because it felt like an injustice.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
