Thomas Tuchel acknowledged he did not expect to outlast Roman Abramovich and influential board members at Chelsea, while Romelu Lukaku made it "very clear he wanted to leave".
Chelsea have undergone wholesale change at Stamford Bridge since Todd Boehly's consortium acquired the club, with numerous departures at the top of the hierarchy.
Owner Abramovich, hampered by the sanctions imposed on him following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, ended a 19-year spell with the Premier League side, while Bruce Buck stepped down as chairman.
Director and chief decision-maker Marina Granovskaia is also set to leave after 12 years, and technical and performance advisor Petr Cech was another departure as the boardroom reshuffle continued.
Granovskaia will remain available to Boehly, who is acting as interim sporting director and chairman, for the duration of the current transfer window to help with the transitional period.
The exodus in the Chelsea boardroom has led head coach Tuchel to be more involved with transfer activity, but the German hopes that he will not be required to participate as actively in negotiations in the longer term.
"It is intense," Tuchel said of the new era at Chelsea. "Everybody needs to find their role and have to adjust and adapt, of course.
"[My job] has changed a lot at the moment. I could never have imagined that I stayed longer at the club than Roman, Marina and Petr.
"This was impossible so now with Marina not in charge and Petr not here anymore it has changed a lot. It's not my favourite thing to do and in the long run the focus has to be on coaching because it is why I am here.
"But, at the moment, of course my help is needed and wanted, and it is necessary that I step up and take the responsibility.
"I am in contact with Todd directly on a daily basis and sometimes more than once on a daily basis because we are aware that we have a club in transition and change.
"My concern is for the team to be competitive and for this we have to invest a lot of time and we need to be hands on. There is no other way.
"We compete not only against the best teams, but also against the best managers. We need to be competitive and replace big players and infuse quality.
"I think it's important for everybody at Cobham to take a little bit more responsibility, not only for me."
Tuchel has lost numerous key leaders from his side, with Antonio Rudiger going to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen to Barcelona, where Cesar Azpilicueta could reportedly join as well.
Lukaku was another departure, sent out on loan to Inter, just a season after Chelsea spent a club-record £97.5million to bring the striker back to London.
The Belgium international labelled his return to Chelsea as a "mistake" on Thursday, and Tuchel suggested it was Lukaku who was intent on returning to Italy for the 2022-23 season.
"There has never been a meeting where I said 'I want this guy out'," said Tuchel. "Never. I was always clear – if he stays we will do everything to put him in a better place, to put him in better shape, to improve my style of coaching, our style of playing, to make him a better fit.
"It was always a possibility he stayed, but Romelu made it very clear he wanted to leave and the owners took the decision to make the decision straight away.
"Disappointed is the wrong word. I don't know a better word in English. It feels like I take it personally – it's never personal. I am not happy that we couldn't bring more out of him.
"Maybe it would have just taken a bit more time. A bit more fitness, a bit more adaptation in our game. Who knows? But we will not find out.
"Once Romelu gave his clear opinion on the situation and there was a solution on the table, the owners made their choice and had my blessing."
Conte fumes at VAR after 1-1 draw with Inter
Antonio Conte was frustrated that VAR did not reverse a penalty decision against Napoli as they played out a 1-1 draw with Inter on Sunday.
Hakan Calhanoglu failed to convert the spot kick in question late in the game, with the Turkish international having equalised for the hosts after Scott McTominay's opener.
Despite the decision not affecting the result in the end, Conte criticised VAR for not overruling the referee's decision to penalise Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa for a foul on Denzel Dumfries.
"Can they [VAR] only intervene when it suits them? A decision from the referee like this can transform a match and VAR cannot do anything about it," Conte told DAZN.
"Either VAR is there to correct errors or it is not. If there is an error, it has to intervene. It really angers me, but it does to all coaches. It has to intervene if there is a mistake.
"If there is VAR, it must be used to correct errors or show the referee situations that he did not see. If it's a clear error, and it was, then why should [referee Maurizio] Mariani be allowed to just do that."
Despite his frustration with refereeing decisions, Conte was satisfied with his team's performance, as they held strong against a spirited second-half display from the Italian champions.
"I said that we would not come here to just be sparring partners against the strongest squad in Serie A, so it was important for us to face them with strength, character, accepting duels all over the field," he said.
"On that score, I am very satisfied. It was not easy to play here. We all know that we are making improvements and working hard, otherwise, you don't come to San Siro twice and also against Juventus without defeat.
"The lads are proving themselves, though, of course, we could've done much, much more in terms of quality today. There were too many errors, a lot of technical errors, but I am sure there will be further improvements."
Napoli's point ensured they stayed top of Serie A heading into the international break, moving them to 26 points in what is shaping up to be a tight title race. Conte's side sit one point clear of Atalanta, Fiorentina, Inter and Lazio.
Inzaghi believes Inter deserved win after dominant second half
Simone Inzaghi was proud of Inter's second-half performance but believes they should have come away with all three points from their 1-1 draw with Napoli.
Hakan Calhanoglu scored with a stunning strike to cancel out Scott McTominay's opener for Napoli, but missed a penalty for the first time in eight years.
He had previously never missed a penalty in Serie A, netting 17 in a row before Sunday.
"I congratulated the team, if there was one side that should've won, then it was Inter. The second half was dominated by us," Inzaghi told DAZN.
"We went behind on a set play situation where we should've done better, but we kept our heads and did not allow Napoli practically anything.
"We hit the woodwork twice, missed a penalty, so I don’t know what more we could've done."
While Inter dominated the second half, the strike duo of Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram were largely kept quiet.
Martinez managed just two shots, worth 0.24 expected goals (xG), hitting the target with neither, while Thuram did not manage a single attempt, though Inzaghi was still impressed by their displays.
"They worked hard for the team and kept us solid," Inzaghi said.
"As a coach, I have to leave the result aside and focus on the performance, which was excellent against a quality opponent."
With nearly a third of the Serie A season completed, the title race is shaping up to be tight with Napoli leading the way on 26 points. Atalanta, Fiorentina, Inter and Lazio, meanwhile, are all on 25.
"I said this would be a very balanced campaign and that is proving to be true, but I saw a wonderful Inter tonight," Inzaghi said.
"We could probably have made more of our chances, but let us not forget the strength of the side we were facing."
Inter 1-1 Napoli: Calhanoglu misses penalty as Scudetto rivals draw
Hakan Calhanoglu went from hero to villain as Inter drew 1-1 with Serie A title rivals Napoli, scoring a stunning equaliser then missing a late penalty.
Inter had fallen behind against the run of play in the 23rd minute, with Scott McTominay continuing his fine form by poking home from close range after a Napoli corner was flicked on.
Two minutes before the break, Calhanoglu equalised with a powerful strike from outside the box, which beat Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret before nestling in the top corner.
The Turkey international, who had scored 17 successive spot-kicks in the league for Inter, then had the chance to win it in the 74th minute after Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa fouled Denzel Dumfries.
However, he left San Siro in stunned silence when he hit the post from 12 yards, ensuring the two Scudetto contenders had to settle for a point apiece.
Napoli top the table with 26 points from 12 games, while Inter sit fourth with 25, with the Nerazzurri also behind Atalanta and Fiorentina on goal difference.
Data Debrief: Nothing to separate title rivals
Napoli may have retained their slender lead at the top of Serie A, but their failure to take all three points ensured Atalanta and Fiorentina ended the matchday two points closer than they started it.
The Partenopei have gone two straight games in Serie A without winning for the first time under Conte, having also lost 3-0 to Atalanta last time out.
They have, however, remained unbeaten in their last two games against Inter when starting the matchday top of Serie A (one win, one draw), after two such defeats versus the Nerazzurri. If the teams are to go head-to-head for the title, this could prove an important point.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
