Source: Telegraph
Chelsea players must take blame for Luiz Felipe Scolari axe says Michael Ballack
Scolari was dismissed on Monday after a poor sequence of results, with Russia coach Guus Hiddink poised to be confirmed as the club's new manager until the end of the season.[LNB]Ballack, though, is adamant Scolari cannot be held entirely accountable for Chelsea's slump in form. "It is a shame because he had not been with us for a long time," he said. "Of course there was some criticism and we did not get the results we all would have wanted, but that is not the manager's fault but the team's. Something like this is always uncomfortable.[LNB]"I want to win the Champions League and play at the highest level and I can do that with Chelsea. Last year we were level with Manchester United on points right to the end (in the Premier League) and we lost the (Champions League) final unluckily on penalties. This club has high ambitions and that is what I came here for."[LNB]Captain John Terry, however, has been angered by the manner of Scolari's dismissal and pointedly said that he supported the Brazilian, as well as "two or three other players".[LNB]Ballack, Petr Cech and Didier Drogba all met with Abramovich last week and Terry has urged the Russian oligarch to address the "overall picture" amid clear hints of dressing-room division.[LNB]Hiddink, though, is regarded as the sort of strong manager and big personality to address those sort of issues and he stands to make an estimated £2 million from his brief spell at Chelsea.[LNB]He is expected to finalise a deal with Abramovich today when he returns from Moscow following a Russian training camp in Turkey, with the situation eased by the fact that Chelsea's billionaire owner already funds a significant proportion of Hiddink's annual salary of around £5.5 million.[LNB]Hiddink will not bring Russia aides Igor Korneyev and Alexander Borodyuk to London, but is understood to be considering appointing Johan Neeskens, who served as his assistant when he was in charge of Holland and Australia, as his assistant.[LNB]The entire process will be costly for Abramovich, who has certainly reaffirmed his commitment to Chelsea over the past week by personally informing Scolari that he would be sacked and then leading negotiations for Hiddink. Chief executive Peter Kenyon only returned from holiday yesterday morning amid claims from the Scolari camp that he supported the Brazilian.[LNB]Compensation with Scolari has been agreed and he leaves Chelsea with a package in the region of £7 million for just seven months work.[LNB] [LNB]
