Cesar Azpilicueta drops major hint on who he wants as Chelsea manager as he says he played his ‘best football’ under him

CHELSEA skipper Cesar Azpilicueta has revealed his best football for Spain has come under Luis Enrique.

And it is a clear hint that Azpilicueta would love Enrique to take over at Stamford Bridge at the end of the season as the new permanent boss.

Interim manager Frank Lampard will be in charge of the team for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final at Real Madrid following the sacking of Graham Potter.

Ex-Barcelona coach Enrique, 52, was sacked by Spain after the World Cup in Qatar and is keen for the Chelsea job after talks with the club although Julian Nagelsmann is also in the frame.

Asked about Enrique, Azpilicueta, who has 44 international caps, said: "Luis Enrique is a coach I have worked with in the Spanish national team.

"My best games for Spain have been with him, and I have enjoyed him a lot, even though the feeling was somewhat sour in Qatar.

"There we felt we had a strong team and we deserved to go far. I only have good words about him. Let's see what happens.

"Luis Enrique has a clear idea for the game and he is loyal to that idea. I don't know what is going to happen."

Azpilicueta will miss the clash in Spain as he is still recovering from a head injury sustained in February.

The defender, talking about the managerial situation, said: "It is difficult to explain.

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"We have a great squad with bags of talent, but there have been many changes and there has been weeks and months of adaptation for the new signings; it is always difficult to adapt to this league. We haven't been able to form a team capable of getting results.

"With Potter, we didn't get the results we wanted, and it is a pity because we had experienced many changes with young players coming in that needed time to adapt.

"In those moments you need a little bit of luck to win a game and get that confidence flowing. We were not consistent enough."

Azpilicueta, though, hopes Lampard can lift Chelsea’s season.

He said: "The truth is that it has been a season with a lot of movements in the dugout, not only at Chelsea. We know Frank and we have a common goal: finish the season in the best possible way.

"We have a shot in the Champions League and we know it will be difficult. But we are Chelsea and we have to defend the shirt and show everybody we are better than what people think.

"Real Madrid is a unique opportunity for us. There are only eight teams left. It is special and difficult at the same time.

"It is different from the Premier League, it is a knockout round, we play against the defending champions, the third year in a row against them, and they have plenty of experience.

"It is a dangerous team, against them you think you have the control of the game, like last season when we were 0-3 up, and they got back into the game. We need to pay attention to every little detail."