Africa Press-Nigeria:
There was little explanation in public when former Under-18s, U19s and U23s coach Adi Viveash left Chelsea two-and-a-half years ago, after delivering two FA Youth Cups, two UEFA Youth League and many other triumphs for an academy that has risen to the top of world football.
Players he coached in the youth set-up – like Tammy Abraham, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Andreas Christensen – are now showing they are ready for first-team duties at the highest level.
Former technical director Michael Emenalo praised “the quality of his work” and his “outstanding achievements” in a one-paragraph statement and Joe Edwards, now Frank Lampard’s assistant coach was promoted in his place.
The events that saw Viveash leave Chelsea will remain the most painful of his career until he finally retires from coaching. That’s not to say he isn’t grateful for what Chelsea allowed him to become. He thinks his current club Coventry City will get a better coach due to the fallout at Cobham.
“The way things ended for me at Chelsea was certainly a shock,” Viveash said in an hour-long interview with Goal. “It shows that you can do as good of a job as you think you can and then someone taps you on the shoulder and say that’s enough.
“I think that hardens you, changes you and I think nothing can be as bad as that felt. I will always have a bit of regret at the way it ended on my part. There’s also regret on other people’s parts but I look at myself about certain things.
“In the times between jobs, you soul search yourself. If you want to improve, that’s what you have to do. I have done a lot of that and Coventry are reaping the rewards of that and getting a better skill set from me than I had before.
“I will always be respectful of the role the academy had on me and the people at Chelsea in that building. I worked with some exceptional players and I was very fortunate. I have a good relationship still with a lot of them.
“It was a good time in my life. Reading was the biggest club I had played at as a player and Swindon made the Premier League but Chelsea felt like another level even in the academy.
“You do feel like a pawn in a massive industry and there was a big weight in the younger coaches behind me with some of them progressing to the first team. They wanted to make that change.
“In hindsight, you think you did a good job, worked tremendously hard and you gave your life to the role which is what it needs. If a youth player plays for the first team, then only one person picks them and that’s the manager.
“My argument has always been with the coaches that there have been a lot of players good enough for many years. I am over the moon that they have Frank Lampard as manager after he has trusted people.
