Wilkins named as Clarke’s replacement
Former Chelsea midfielder Wilkins embarks on his second coaching spell with the club, having previously worked under former manager Gianluca Vialli.
The 52-year-old begins work immediately and steps into the role vacated by Clarke who resigned to team up with former Blues hero Gianfranco Zola, now in charge at West Ham.
Wilkins will work closely with Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, and returns to the game after losing his coaching position with England U21s last year following Peter Taylor’s exit and Stuart Pearce’s subsequent appointment as head coach.
He became Chelsea’s youngest captain at the age of 18 and was the club’s player of the year on two occasions before moving on to Manchester United in 1979 after making 198 appearances and hitting 34 goals.
He later played for clubs including AC Milan, Rangers and QPR, and won 84 England caps, before managing QPR and Fulham. While working with Vialli, Wilkins helped Chelsea to win the FA Cup and Charity Shield in 2000.
Chelsea agreed undisclosed compensation with West Ham to allow Clarke to move to Upton Park, after the former Blues defender handed in a resignation letter to make his intentions known.
Yesterday Zola backed Chelsea’s decision to bring Wilkins back to Stamford Bridge. “I am sure he (Wilkins) will do well,’’ said Zola. He has the knowledge to do the job and knows the Premier League very well.
“He is a very humble man so I am sure he will be very helpful for Scolari.
“He knows the club and the supporters. I worked with him for a few years and it was always a pleasure.”
And Zola has revealed he made improving the players’ fitness one of his top priorities in the countdown to his managerial debut.
The Italian takes charge of the team for the first time on Saturday when managerless Newcastle are the visitors to Upton Park.
The Italian watched his new side from the stands at West Brom last week before officially taking over as Alan Curbishley’s successor on Monday.
Albion won that one 3-2 with a late goal and Zola, who has appointed countryman Antonio Pintus as his fitness coach, was keen to put that right.
He said: “I was surprised how the players tired towards the end of that game. Probably if they had not we wouldn’t have lost.
“But I told the players not to be too hard on themselves. Up to 70 minutes they were very good and looked the better team on the pitch.
“The last 20 minutes they went down physically and when you go down physically you also lose attention and that’s why we conceded a third goal. We have already started working on that.”
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