Vialli eyes Chelsea return

Gianluca Vialli has admitted that he dreams of returning to manage Chelsea and is convinced he will be given the opportunity to finish the job he started at Stamford Bridge.

In an exclusive Sportsmail interview, the man who was replaced by Claudio Ranieri three years ago fears that his experience at Watford has damaged his immediate chances of being offered a fresh start in England. But he insisted: 'I will manage Chelsea again. I know that one day I will go back and lead the club again.

'I love the club as much as ever and I have a fantastic relationship with the fans there and returning is my destiny. I dream about it but I am a believer and I believe it will happen one day.'

Vialli, a great friend and former Sampdoria team-mate of Tottenham managerial target Roberto Mancini, has turned down several jobs on the Continent since he was sacked by Watford in the summer of 2002. He is currently working as a television analyst in Italy while studying for a coaching licence.

He has not, however, lost the desire to return to the sharp end of the game and insisted his first choice would be to find a suitable club in England rather than work in Italy.

'I would very much love to manage a club in England because that is where I belong and that is where my football mentality is most at home,' he said. '

Unfortunately, I don't know how much credibility I have because of what happened at Watford and I suspect that my next job will probably be in Italy.'

Vialli was sacked by Watford one year into a lucrative three-year contract. They had finished 14th in Division One and, with running costs rocketing under the Italian, they narrowly avoided administration last year.

The dispute between club and coach was settled only last summer when Watford paid Vialli around £1.5million in compensation for the two remaining years of his deal.

But Vialli, who won four trophies during his time in charge at Chelsea, is determined he will not make the mistake of taking on any job just to get back in the game. 'It will have to be the right one,' he said.