Montreal Impact's Didier Drogba open to being Chelsea manager

Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has told BBC
Africa he would like to "give back" to the Premier
League club in the future by becoming their
manager or taking on another senior role.
Drogba, 37, is currently contracted to Montreal
Impact, where he has scored 12 goals in 14 Major
League Soccer appearances.
The Ivorian played for Chelsea over two separate
stints, netting 157 goals in 341 outings and
helping the club lift several trophies, including
four Premier League titles and the Champions
League.
Drogba said: "I want to give back to the club
which has given so much to me. I have agreed
that with the club directors.
"Why not manager? Why not sporting director,
trainer at the academy or maybe an advising role
for strikers?"
Current Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has
come under pressure this season having won just
four of their 13 league fixtures so far.
But Drogba is confident his former boss will turn
things around at Stamford Bridge, adding: "If the
club has kept him that means owner Roman
Abramovich thinks that he is the right man.
"I think the players trust him and he is giving his
best to change the situation.
"They have quality when it comes to the players,
and quality when it comes to the management.
This is a club which usually doesn't have a bad
season twice."
Drogba has called on Chelsea's leaders to stand
up and drag the club away from the lower
reaches of the Premier League.
Mourinho's men are just three places above the
relegation zone, with a 12-point gap to Arsenal in
fourth.
"I don't like to compare things to when I was
there but there are some facts that you can't
hide," Drogba was quoted as saying by The Sun
at the launch of his new book, Commitment.
"During my time at Chelsea we had a lot of
leaders in the team, not only last year but during
the previous seasons.
"There was Frank Lampard, Petr Cech, John Terry,
myself, Michael Ballack, Michael Essien, Andriy
Shevchenko, Claude Makelele -- big names, big
players and big characters.
"We could take responsibility for a result and
change the situation in bad moments such as
when there was a change of manager or when we
had bad results.
"There was always someone to step up and say,
'Guys, we need to do something' and everybody
would follow.
"JT is still there but on your own it is very difficult,
so other players have to come up with this
mentality. "But it's not something you are born
with - you build it within you.
"You have to make sure that it is the right
moment to talk and to take the lead and, most
importantly, the rest of the team has to accept
you as a leader.
"When you stand up and say, 'Let's go and win'
you have to make sure that you produce yourself
-- you can't be a leader if you are not the first to
show that you have the determination to want to
win.
"I think there are some leaders in this current
squad and hopefully you will soon see that."
Chelsea have shown signs of a revival this week --
following up a narrow victory over Norwich with a
4-0 success against Maccabi Tel Aviv -- but
frustration was evident during a half-time bust-up
between striker Diego Costa and manager
Mourinho in Israel.
Drogba believes Costa will come to realise the
need to keep his cool and has backed his former
boss to reverse Chelsea's fortunes.
"I have also had some passionate moments in my
career," the Ivorian said. "It's what football
creates in difficult moments.
"I was lucky to have players who helped me, who
were always there to support me and give me
advice.
"They helped me to change my relationship with
the fans, to focus more on my game and to save
my energy for the football.
"You need to be strong but you also need to be
smart. Diego will learn that this might not be the
best way for him to change things."
Information from the Press Association was used
in this report.