PAUL GREEN IS temporarily stepping into Emma Hayes’ shoes but he expects the Chelsea boss to be involved as much as she can during her recovery from a hysterectomy.
Hayes revealed on Thursday that she is stepping away from the touchline while she recuperates having undergone surgery last week.
General manager Green will take over the reins alongside assistant coach Denise Reddy as Women’s Super League champions Chelsea return to action against Everton on Sunday before a Champions League clash with Paris St Germain next week.
Green said: “Emma will definitely still be involved. She’ll be at home watching all the training online, she’ll be linked into the bench on the match days as long as she’s well enough to do that. I’m sure it’ll be difficult for her to watch the games at home.”
There will be no pressure put on Hayes to come back in any specific time frame, with Green saying: “I’ve spoken to her quite a few times in the last week.
“She’s making good progress, she’s back at home now and we hope that progress will continue on a daily basis. Of course we wish her a speedy recovery along with everybody else at the club.
“We’ve been looking to get organised behind the scenes. Denise is very experienced, she’s been a head coach in her own right in America and Denmark, we’ve got Tanya (Oxtoby) on our staff who’s also been a head coach and then (goalkeeping coach) Stuart (Searle) and I have worked alongside Emma for nearly 10 years and been in this situation back in 2018 when Emma was pregnant.
“So it’s not a new situation and I’ve got full confidence in the staff and the players that we’ll deal with this situation and get the results needed to make sure that when Emma comes back into work we’re in a good position on all fronts.”
Time to heal. I’m so grateful for all the support and I will be back soon x 💙 pic.twitter.com/iM9hSF60AT
— Emma Hayes OBE (@emmahayes1) October 13, 2022
Hayes has spoken previously about her battle with endometriosis, and Green added: “Emma is very open and honest and a real inspiration for everybody out there really.
I think this is just another example of her being very open, getting women’s issues out there for everybody to talk about, which perhaps isn’t the case on a daily basis.
Green is confident Hayes’ absence will not negatively affect Chelsea, who have won two of their first three league games.
“The players knew about the situation before the international break so coming back it wasn’t a shock,” he said.
“It’s business as usual for us. It just means our leader won’t be there, which is a blow, but the staff and the players are experienced enough to get through the situation.
“We’ve got Mags (Magdalena Eriksson) and Millie (Bright), the two captains, along with a lot of other senior players, who I’m sure will be making sure the players maintain their standards and look to get the results during this period for Emma.”
