CHELSEA legend Gary Cahill has challenged the team’s young stars to “step into their roles” and help get the Blues back on top.
And the former club captain warned that they’d have to be able to adapt to the new manager’s wishes right away.
Cahill, 40, won two Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League among many other trophies during his spell with the club.
He spoke to The U.S. Sun after watching Saturday’s FA Cup final loss to Manchester City with Chelsea fans in Chicago – and before Xabi Alonso was appointed as new boss.
“It’s the next stage for these young players now,” Cahill said.
“I’ve said before that we need patience, but we can’t keep saying young players – they need to step into their roles.
“In terms of experience, Enzo is one player that seems to be in a leadership role. Reece James is the captain, Trevoh Chalobah is somebody who can try and step into those roles and it’s great to see Levi Colwill back and the impact he could have.
“Experience comes with age and years in football, and if you’ve got young players it takes time to build them up.
“When I first joined the club, I didn’t necessarily need to be in that role because there were people above me.
“But eventually you grow into it and I finished as club captain.
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“I think there are certain players that can probably take that next step now in terms of their progression.”
Cahill won the FA Cup twice, but also lost a Wembley final with Chelsea.
The former central defender wants to see the team show progress towards competing for the Premier League title again.
He said, “They’ll be hurting but they’ve got to dust themselves off and go again on Tuesday against Tottenham.
“Ultimately, the club are pushing to get back to winning trophies, but let’s just also say it wasn’t that long ago since we did win the Club World Cup so it’s not all doom and gloom.
“The pressures of being at Chelsea are that you compete for silverware and for the league.
“As harsh as it is, if that’s not the case, you don’t last in terms of being a player at Chelsea.
“It’s a big summer ahead and they have to regroup and go again.
“You have to adapt and top players can adapt in terms of new managers coming in with different philosophies and ideas.
“Speaking from experience myself, to be a good man manager is sometimes harder than it looks so I think that’s quite important coming into a squad like Chelsea.”
Cahill followed Saturday’s FA Cup final by watching a Major League Baseball clash between local rivals the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox.
“I think I’ll give deep dish pizzas a miss,” he laughed. “I had it last time and it was great but it took me about three days to get through it.
“I flick in and out of US sports but always try and get to an event when I’m in the US.
“The Premier League is obviously huge worldwide but the fans here are very passionate and I’m seeing it growing all the time, going back to pre-season tours I was on in 2012.”
