Exclusive - Craig Burley: Chelsea took a risk in putting their hopes in Pep Guardiola

Former Chelsea and Scotland midfielder, Craig Burley, believes there is a dark cloud over his former club this season.

Since the sacking of fan favourite Roberto Di Matteo, the European Champions have ensured a rocky ride with interim manager Rafael Benitez in charge, with the Spaniard overseeing their exit from the Champions League, FA Cup and Capital One Cup competitions.

Burley admitted their season so far has been shambolic, and that the club’s failure to secure former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola has highlighted the question of who could adequately replace Benitez when his time at Chelsea comes to an end.

“It’s been a bit of a shambles for quite a while, and that’s a strange thing to say bearing in mind we’re talking about the European champions," he told Weekend Sports Breakfast.

“Calling Benitez the interim manager from day one has been wrong, but that said, his results haven just not been good enough. They’ve had some real horror shows.

“For me the problem was, and I might be wrong here, but they seemed to stake their whole business policy on getting Pep Guardiola.

“I thought that was a massive risk to take because there were far from any guarantees he was going to go to Chelsea.

“Now they’re in a predicament with Benitez who isn’t getting results, nobody seems to want him, he’s on borrowed time and I’m sure he’ll get a job somewhere else. But then who’s going to come in?

“It casts a very dark cloud over the place, it’s all been a mess.”