Chelsea boss Emma Hayes says leaving the membership is a day she “by no means actually wished to see come” however that the “time is correct” for her to maneuver on.
Hayes was chatting with the media on Friday for the primary time since Saturday’s announcement that she would depart Chelsea on the finish of the season.
“I’ve taken this crew to the highest and I all the time mentioned I wished to go away on the high, I preserve that,” she mentioned.
Hayes has guided Chelsea to 13 main trophies throughout her 12-year tenure.
The 47-year-old wouldn’t touch upon reviews that she is near being named supervisor of the USA Girls’s crew, including that her “focus” lies with Chelsea till the tip of the marketing campaign.
“You dedicate so many hours to this job and I’ve given it every little thing I can,” added Hayes.
“I’ve needed to consider that and issue it in. Something I will do, I need to do it effectively, however perhaps it is about simply having one thing completely different greater than anything.
“I’d battle going backwards at any level or out-staying my welcome. These issues plague me.
“It is not truly a straightforward factor to do to go away on the high with a world-class crew, however I all the time made the promise to myself that I’d try this.”
Hayes added that you will need to her to create a “succession plan” for the brand new supervisor to make sure the membership can preserve its standing on the high of English home ladies’s soccer.
“The time is correct however I’ll do every little thing I can to verify there’s pretty much as good as transition as doable so my successor can have the identical stage of success as I can,” she mentioned.
Reports this week have urged that Chelsea had not prioritised contract negotiations with Hayes and that had contributed to her determination to go away.
“I imagine in personal conversations. After all I am disenchanted to listen to issues are being mentioned within the press,” she mentioned.
“I need to be certain that I preserve my very own professionalism in every little thing I do. So far as I am involved, the individuals I’ve labored with in that interval have made me really feel the perfect coach I can really feel. That is not all the time simple whenever you’re dropping gamers and they aren’t taking part in week-in, week-out.
“I depart on the finish of the season figuring out I’ve given every little thing and have completed every little thing.
“Issues and conversations which might be personal between myself and the membership will stay personal at my finish. I’ll preserve that.”
‘This can be a selfless determination’
Hayes has a five-year-old son and has cited household time and the pressure on her as an vital consider making the choice to go away Chelsea.
“I have been within the submit for 12 years and I’ve devoted my life to this place,” she mentioned. “I drive 4 hours to and from this place 6 days per week for 12 years. I’ve a five-year-old that wants extra of his mummy, for certain.
“I am a mum and never many soccer managers sit up right here and discuss that in the identical manner.”
Hayes added that the journey that comes with the success of a membership like Chelsea – away fixtures up and down the nation within the WSL, in addition to cup competitions and journey overseas for European fixtures – can put a pressure on household life.
“My little boy has been extraordinary to permit me to do that, but it surely’s vital for him,” she added.
“There’s nonetheless lots of work that must be completed within the ladies’s sport for individuals with kids. I should not simply restrict that – it is individuals with kids. Now we have lives and I’ve to consider others.
“This isn’t a egocentric determination, it is a selfless determination. It is about placing first different issues in my life -and I am prepared for that.”
