'I don't get it' - Ruud Gullit delivers damning review of former club Chelsea and highlights key management issue that remains 28 years after he led Blues to silverware

Gullit was sacked by Chelsea in 1998 and 27 years on, and nearly 20 full-time managers later, the Dutchman says some of the issues they had back then have not gone away. He questioned their identity, philosophy and preponderance for sacking managers.

Writing in The Sun, Gullit - who guided the Blues to the 1997 FA Cup - mused: "Chelsea to me, still, is a little bit of an enigma. I don't know really how good they are or how bad they are. They are looking for their identity a little bit. They are trying to creep up the table and maybe in the long term they will be contenders for the title. But I don't know yet where they are exactly. People tell me that one of the problems with Chelsea is that they change the manager all the time - so tell me something new! I don't get it. I don't get what they really, really want. Even if they are successful, they still sack you as a coach. So I don't know. That's why I say Chelsea's still an enigma. I try to find out what they stand for, what is their philosophy and what is the football they want us to watch?"

Chelsea looked to be heading in the right direction towards the end of 2024 as they were seemingly in the title race. Since then, though, they have slipped down the table, are in for a real fight to qualify for the Champions League, and questions are being asked over head coach Enzo Maresca's long-term future. They could be back to square one in not all that long.

Chelsea will hope to get back on track when they host London rivals Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.