A subdued Holland, propelled into the Stamford Bridge hot-seat by Mourinho’s shock sacking on Thursday, was relieved to guide Chelsea to a 3-1 win over Sunderland in his one game in charge before interim coach Guus Hiddink takes over.
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Chelsea fans display a banner showing their support for Jose Mourinho during the club’s match against Sunderland at Stamford Bridge.
“I just said that whatever their feelings were regarding the situation, they had a responsibility to the football club and its supporters all around the world”, he added.
Hiddink spoke to the players in the dressing room after the match and is confident he can arrest the club’s alarming slide, which saw last season’s champions lose nine of their first 16 matches.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich previously turned to Hiddink in February 2009 after sacking Luiz Felipe Scolari.
“It was on the cards quite honestly”, said Peter Fletcher, 67, who has been watching Chelsea since the late 1960s.
Roger Edgell, a 69 year-old life-long Chelsea fan, was clear in his verdict on Mourinho’s departure.
He has also coached the national teams of Russia, Australia and Turkey, but his second stint with the Netherlands was cut short in June 2015 after a poor start to the Euro 2016 qualifiers.
“Jose hopes that his future after Chelsea this time will be as successful as when he left the club in 2007”.
Chelsea fullback Branislav Ivanovic says he empathises with the club’s fans after sections of the Stamford Bridge crowd voiced their displeasure at the recent performances of some players.
The Blues faithful quickly followed that up with ‘where were you when we were s***?’ once more pointedly accusing the club’s players of a dereliction of duty as Mourinho’s tenure spiralled out of control.
“We’ve seen some good things, back-to-back wins, which gave us an opportunity to go forward but we’ve dropped back into the mire again through our lack of results”.
Chelsea’s announcement came hot on the heels of Mourinho revealing he is already looking for a route back into management.
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Sporting a newly shaven head and wearing a dark jacket, he was photographed in a seat at the Amex Stadium, where his former Real Madrid assistant Aitor Karanka was taking charge of Middlesbrough.
