Henk ten Cate said he had received personal assurances
from chief executive Peter Kenyon.
Henk ten Cate followed Avram Grant down the Chelsea exit
chute, days after claiming his job was safe. Ten Cate told a Dutch
magazine this week that he had received personal assurances from
chief executive Peter Kenyon that Grant's sacking would not
jeopardise his future. "I'd rather go on that than all those
newspaper reports," said the former Ajax boss on
Tuesday.
But on Thursday he was summoned to a meeting and fired by
Kenyon, who is clearing the decks in preparation for a new
manager. Chelsea's search for a successor to Grant continues
but they accept the chosen one will want to bring in his own No 2
and Ten Cate was fired after just seven months at Stamford
Bridge.
A club statement said: "As a result of the team management
changes at Chelsea FC, and in the light of any forthcoming
appointment, it was clear this was the correct decision for all
parties. "Everybody at Chelsea would like to thank Henk for his
contribution since coming to the club last year."
Ten Cate has been stunned by his treatment, which he considers
tantamount to betrayal after his initial meeting with Kenyon. He
was persuaded to leave Ajax in October to work at Chelsea as joint
assistant manager to Grant, alongside long-serving Steve Clarke,
who remains - for now.
Clarke has two decades of Chelsea service in his favour, and the
club are determined to maintain a link to their past, but the
nature of Ten Cate's dismissal suggests none of Grant's staff can
relax. There is no shortage of popular former Chelsea players with
coaching experience who could be part of the new managerial
team.
And Portuguese FA vice-president Amandio de Carvalho claims to
know Chelsea are interested in Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari
as manager, while speculation grew in Italy yesterday that AC
Milan's Carlo Ancelotti had fired Roman Abramovich's imagination at
a meeting.
Another possible candidate, Roberto Mancini, appears to be
heading for an ugly legal battle at Inter Milan, who last night
confirmed the worst keep secret in football - his sacking. Inter
president Massimo Moratti hoped his long and close relationship
with Mancini would ensure a swift financial settlement, but
Mancini's agent, Giorgio de Giorgis, flatly rejected an initial
£4million offer at a meeting with finance director Ronaldo
Ghelsi.
There are four years left on Mancini's contract, worth £4.7m a
year, and De Giorgis insists there are no severance clauses written
into the deal. Mancini would accept a lesser package if he could
walk straight into another highly-paid and high-profile job, and
his determination to fight Inter is a clear indication there has
been no job offer from Chelsea.
The Italian club are examining the details of Mancini's comments
after defeat by Liverpool in the Champions League, when he said he
had resigned but changed his mind. The Mancini dispute has delayed
the unveiling of Jose Mourinho at the San Siro and his expected
swoop for some of his former players at Chelsea.
