
Jamie
Redknapp questioned where Chelsea turn next with pressure mounting on
Antonio Conte following the Blues' 3-1 home defeat by Tottenham on Super
Sunday.
Redknapp said any incoming manager would be forced to adopt the back-three
style Chelsea have favoured under Conte, and that the Italian's replacement
would likely be given a maximum of two years to exert their influence at
Stamford Bridge.
Roman Abramovic has seen off 11 managers since he took ownership of the club
in 2003, developing a reputation Redknapp said made managers feel their
"legs are cut off" within two years of taking the top job.
Less than 12 months since Conte won the Premier League at the end of a dream
first season in English football, the 48-year-old looks like he will be only
the second under Abramovic's tenure to miss out on Champions League
qualification.
But if that is enough for the Russian to show him the door, Redknapp said on
Super Sunday he was not sure where Chelsea could turn next.
He said: "They wanted to go for Conte, who's a Mourinho-type figure,
demonstrative, gets the crowd going, and then they might go for someone
different just to calm everyone down, like an Ancelotti.
"But I don't know where they go now, even from a tactical point of view.
Chelsea work as a back three, so you've got wing-backs who can't really play
in a four, so you have to change how you play, unless you bring in an
Allegri at Juventus and work with a back three.
"If a manager wants to play with a four, it changes everything you've been
working on in the past two years. It makes it very difficult to change that
quickly, the players here are so used to playing with a three and playing in
that manner, it makes it hard if you bring in a manager who doesn't want to
work with those restraints."
Conte said in the build-up to Sunday's game Chelsea deserved to be in the
position they were in, and repeated those comments in his post-match
interview following the defeat.
Redknapp said the Italian was clearly "not happy" at Stamford Bridge, and
that this had contributed to their issues, which have left them 28 points
off the top of the Premier League with seven games to go.
"There seems to be problems in the squad, the manager's not happy, and that
transmits to the players," he said. "I've been in that kind of dressing room
before, and it's toxic.
"It looks like he wants out, and it's a shame because he's one of the best
managers around. But there's no doubt, you manage this club for one, maybe
two years - and by manage I mean control - and after that, it feels like
they cut your legs off.
"You can't do anymore, and someone else comes into the equation. I don't
know where they go next, because they've been through so many exceptional
managers."