Raheem Sterling believes the next permanent Chelsea manager must have full control of first-team matters in order for the club to be successful.
The Blues – currently placed 14th in the Premier League table – have had four managers during a torrid season in which they have lost 14 league matches so far.
Interim boss Frank Lampard has lost all six of his games in charge and face Bournemouth on Saturday knowing a loss would see Gary O’Neil’s side leapfrog them in the table.
“I’m not one to tell the club what to do but from what I can gauge from where I was previously, organisation is the most important thing,” Sterling told Sky Sports.
“Having a manager that has the final say on everything and it being his way with everyone having to follow that.
“Successful teams always have a manager that comes in, brings his blueprint and everyone follows. If there are people that don’t follow, then they are not part of the team and that is how brutal it needs to be at a high level.
“It’s a fine line between winning, coming second and being in the position we are now. It’s about everyone being on the same page from my experience.”
Chelsea made a total of eight signings during the January transfer window under then-boss Graham Potter, and Sterling admits that such a large squad has been difficult to manage.
“There’s new ownership, the new manager that came at the start of the season, new players and some players that were meant to leave that didn’t at the time, it’s been an overload of players,” said Sterling.
“It’s hard for any manager to deal with. He hasn’t got the right amount and we have to try and do training sessions that involve everyone because people need to be fit as well.
“It’s difficult but every manager that’s been here has dealt with it as professionally as they can, and they have never been disrespectful to any player here.
“It’s been a challenge and something that we do definitely need to get sorted because if a manager is here, he wants players who are invested in what the club wants to achieve and what he wants to achieve.
“It’s quite difficult to do that with mixed emotions in the squad. It’s definitely something as a club we need to get organised.”
As it stands, Chelsea are on course for their lowest finish since 1996 despite owner Todd Boehly spending £600m on new players.
The London club have won just four of their 23 matches this calendar year.
“We need to take small steps,” Lampard said. “Fans might not want to hear that.
“There’s a reality of the club of where it’s at. It’s not my job to think about stats that have been produced from the outside.
“That’s commonplace in football, you can make any stat be in the moment. As a coach and a player the biggest thing is your next game or step.
“I think everybody understands the difficulty of the situation I have come into. I understood it coming in, especially in those first two or three weeks where we played five games, with two against Real Madrid.
“I haven’t had much time to really lay much down. You have to accept that as a consequence of the job. As much as you have your great moments where everything feels easy, you also have your moments where they’re not so.”
READ ALSO