LMA chief executive Richard Bevan hits out at ‘disrespectful’ Chelsea for handling of Carlo Ancelotti sacking

Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea

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League Managers’ Association (LMA) chief executive Richard Bevan has taken a swipe at Chelsea for their dismissal of manager Carlo Ancelotti.

The Italian boss won the Premier League and FA Cup in his first season in charge of the club, but was sacked after failing to pick up silverware in his second campaign, with reports suggesting that a decision to dismiss him was made before the final day of the season.

Bevan feels that owners should give managers more time to prove their worth, and says Chelsea and owner Roman Abramovich handled Ancelotti’s sacking with “little class”.

“I think the way they went about sacking Carlo was pretty much disrespectful in terms of the way they treated him,” he said.

“There was a tap on the shoulder in the corridor at Everton and a ‘let’s go and have a conversation’.

“The way the whole situation was handled was of little class.

“And, actually, it’s damaging to the game. It’s disrespectful to the Premier League at the end of the season and I think Mr Abramovich needs to have a long hard look at the advisors who he’s got advising him.

“It’s just a very poor way of running a club. He needs to have a little bit more respect for the history and tradition and culture.”

Bevan added: “I think they are counting up to seven managers in eight years.

“Carlo is a very dignified, very honourable man, and probably one of the most liked men we had at the LMA awards dinner on Monday night. He had a massive ovation from fans as well as the other managers in the room.

“It would be interesting to see what the Chelsea fans think of it. In terms of whether or not he’s going for the Champions League and has targeted Guus Hiddink or any other manager, then fair enough, if that’s his target.”

Bevan also insisted that the problem is not restricted to Ancelotti, but is one of a bigger nature.

“But I think it’s not really about Carlo. It’s about how we operate our clubs,” he said. “We’ve lost 40 managers and over 100 coaches: 105 coaches this season sacked from their clubs.”

Bevan took the example of the early part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign at Manchester United to insist that continuity does count for something.

He added: “Back in 1986, Alex had about 18 months where he struggled. But what he’s done there, and what other managers have done in the history of the game, is they’ve built a winning culture in the game. They’ve built through leadership and through time.”