'He Will Be Popular - the Fans Will Listen to Him and Love Him'

Nigel Spackman summed up the mood among former Chelsea players last night when he said that Luiz Felipe Scolari's appointment as Avram Grant's successor at Stamford Bridge "has been worth the wait". Although the timing of the announcement came as a surprise, there was almost universal support for the club's decision to turn to the current Portugal manager, with Scott Minto predicting that Scolari would be "loved" by the Chelsea supporters.

"He's got a fantastic CV and he's doing a brilliant job at the moment for Portugal," said Minto, the former Chelsea left-back. "I think he will be popular. I think the only thing is - and I'm not sure how good his grasp of English is - that he will have to learn the language pretty quickly. But Fabio Capello has done that and I think once Scolari does that he can communicate his thoughts to the Chelsea fans and they will listen to him and love him. He'll be as controversial as [Jose] Mourinho."

Minto was not the only person to draw comparisons with Mourinho. Colin Lee, who enjoyed seven years as a player with Chelsea in the 1980s and remains in close contact with several of the backroom staff at Stamford Bridge, including Steve Clarke, predicted that Scolari would be keen to spend as much time as possible on the training ground, much like the "Special One". "I would think he will be hands on like Mourinho was," said Lee. "And I think the players will respond to that.

"Sometimes it's very difficult to judge a person unless you work with them, but the impression you get from the new manager is that he's a very passionate person who wants his players to show that same passion. I like that type of thing. He's got masses of experience and you would imagine that he's got a tremendous knowledge of players worldwide so that can only be good for Chelsea. For the club to progress further, I think it's a wise appointment."

Spackman agreed, with the former Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder expecting Scolari's arrival to prompt the disenchanted players at the club to reconsider their future. He pointed to the "attacking football" Portugal have played during his time as the national coach as another reason to be encouraged and, citing the period the 59-year-old spent in charge of Brazil, claimed Scolari would be more than equipped to handle Roman Abramovich's expectations.

"It's about time they got someone but I think it has been worth the wait," said Spackman. "I am sure there have been other managers Chelsea have tried to tempt but in the end I think he's the right man at the right time to take Chelsea forward. The pressure will be on Scolari to do well but he's had that pressure before and he's stood up to it. I think it's a great signing. You only have to look back a couple of years and England wanted him.

"I am sure he will have laid down the law and said, 'I'm responsible for this and that's the way it's got to be'," continued Spackman. "He's his own man. He doesn't worry about people's reputations. I think that's what's good about him as well. He makes his own decisions, because leaving the likes of [Luis] Figo out, who was an icon to many Portuguese people, showed that he believes that the team is more important than one player."

David Speedie is also impressed with Scolari's track record, which includes winning the World Cup with Brazil, but he did sound a note of caution. "He's got great credentials, and obviously he's going to take the job because he's going to get paid probably six or seven million a year, but what more has he got to do than the previous managers?" asked the former striker. "What does Abramovich want? Has Scolari got to win the quadruple to keep his job?" Time will tell.