Chelsea hopeful Ancelotti will be back for Arsenal clash
Published 10:29 01/10/10 By Martin Lipton
The death of Carlo Ancelotti's father has deflated the Chelsea mood, assistant manager Ray Wilkins admitted today.
Ancelotti flew back to Italy on Wednesday to be at Giuseppe's bedside as the 87-year-old lost his battle for life and will not return to London until after tomorrow's funeral.
The Blues boss does intend to be on the touchline against Arsenal on Sunday but Wilkins conceded the news had cast a pall over the club in the build-up to the clash of the London giants.
Wilkins said: "It's obviously an extremely unpleasant time for Carlo and his family and the players were down yesterday.
"They have a fantastic rapport with Carlo and were saddened so the session was not as bright as normal.
"But Carlo will be back on Saturday and join us in the evening and hopefully be on the sidelines, although he is the only person who knows that.
"He might not feel up to it. He loves football, it's his passion and will want to be on touchline. His father has not been well for a couple of months so a huge weight has been lifted off family. But I know we will be focused."
Wilkins admitted to "surprise" that Arsenal have now gone five years without any silverware but suggested it was time Chelsea started to get more credit for their own game.
He added: "Maybe we should be talking about how we play.
"We're very pleased with the football we play. We use the attributes of guys so we can maximise our chances.
"If we need to play with power and strength we do that but we feel we've also played a brand of football that's been exceptional. We're thrilled with the way we're playing even if we let ourselves down a bit at Manchester City."
