Former Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has, on Friday, provided an insight into his frame of mind since being dismissed by the powers that be at Stamford Bridge.
German tactician Tuchel, of course, was relieved of his duties in west London back in September.
On the back of an altogether underwhelming opening to the campaign, which had seen his side look disjointed in a host of key areas, the decision was taken that the ex-Borussia Dortmund headmaster no longer represented the right man to guide the Blues forward.
Graham Potter, in turn, was swiftly installed in his place.
Many felt as though the decision came as an overly harsh one, with Tuchel, less than 18 months on from guiding Chelsea to glory in Europe, having still been in the process of integrating a host of summer arrivals into his setup.
And, if his latest comments are anything to go by, then the German himself appears to share such a point of view.
And the 49-year-old was not shy in admitting that it ‘came too early’, leaving him ‘sad’ when reflecting on the situation:
“I loved every day at Chelsea,” Tuchel began. “It came to an end too early for me. But it was out of my hands.”
“I am sad because I think my job at Chelsea was not finished. I had a fantastic relationship with the players. We had a fantastic relationship with all the staff.”
“We had overcome an incredibly demanding time in change of ownership and being sanctioned [by the UK Government]. And before that we had Covid-19. So it was pretty demanding, but it was also very, very bonding.”
“So we did this together, and I was in for the long run. I was ready to go a long way because I felt happy, but the owners had a different idea, and you have to accept it.”
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