Emma Hayes claimed she couldn’t work for another football club after she departs Chelsea at the end of the Women’s Super League season.
Hayes announced she was pulling the curtain down on a glittering and trophy-laden 12 years in west London earlier this season as she becomes the new head coach of the four-time world champions USWNT.
The news shook the women’s football world, with Hayes as much of an institution at Chelsea as she is in women’s football in England.
Hayes’ final season was billed to be one swimming in trophies, including an historic quadruple. But a Continental Cup final loss to Arsenal in injury time gave way to a torrid run of results. Hayes’ side were dumped out of the FA Cup semi-finals and Champions League semi-finals, leaving only the league as the last opportunity for silverware in Hayes’ farewell tour.
A hay-wire 4-3 loss to Liverpool last week looked to have all but ended any title bid. But Manchester City’s 2-1 loss to Arsenal on Sunday left the door ajar for a resounding Chelsea comeback. And Hayes’ players seized the opportunity without fault as they thrashed Bristol City 8-0 to put the fate of the title race back into their hands.
Hayes, who was recognised with a guard of honour and presentation after her last home match as Chelsea boss, was visibly moved after the display from her players, especially after she’d publicly ceded the title to City days earlier.
“If you told me at the beginning of the day Arsenal would beat City in the last five minutes and we would win 8-0, what are the odds of that?,” Hayes said afterwards.
“That shows when you have belief. I said to the players if Man City slip up we have to be ready. Today was another opportunity to get closer to something that was slipping out of our grasp. I’m super proud. Everything Chelsea represents are days like today.”
Hayes has spoken at length about the emotional and physical toll of managing a club at the top-end of the sport such as Chelsea. Her decision to take on the USWNT was made in large part to wanting to spend more time with her son, Harry.
Whether Hayes’ stint away from the club football touchline could lead to a potential return in the future has been speculated. Hayes’ renown precedes her and before taking on the USWNT head coach role, Hayes was often tipped to make history as the first woman to manage a men’s team in England.
But the USA-bound Hayes seemed to pour cold water on any suggestions that she would manage another club after her time with Chelsea comes to an end later this month.
“I can’t see that I’ll ever work for another football club again, that’s how much I love this place,” she said.
Chelsea face Tottenham Hotspur on 15 May. Victory would put them level on points with City but ahead on goal difference going into the final day of the season.
