Cahill reveals when his relationship with former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri hit rock bottom.

• Cahill struggled for minutes in his final season at Chelsea.

• England’s run to the World Cup semi-finals meant Cahill's playing time reduced at Chelsea the following season.

Sarri had little interest in giving centre-back Cahill a chance in the Premier League.

Gary Cahill says it was “difficult to have respect for some of the things” Italian manager Maurizio Sarri did.

Cahill, who was Blues captain at the time, struggled for minutes in his final campaign at Stamford Bridge, registering only eight appearances in all competitions.

However, the former England defender says the Juventus head-coach Sarri never gave him a chance to get into his starting XI at the west London club. “We went to the 2018 World Cup, got to the semi-finals, so I missed pre-season, which I think was massive looking back now,” the Crystal Palace centre-back Cahill told the Daily Mail. “He (Sarri) was very much into his tactics, probably too much, and I missed all of that. I was on the back foot. To be brutally honest, halfway through the season, the relationship was gone. I don't think that was ever going to be recovered.” The 34-year-old continued: “It's difficult to have respect for some of the things he did. "But I have a lot of respect for the club, and for the players. As a big figure then, as captain, to go about things totally the wrong way, which I easily could have done, it's not the way to do it. “Was that easy? No. Was that one of the mentally toughest things to deal with? Especially because it went on for so long? One hundred per cent. “The maddest thing is when you don't play for whatever reason – if you're out of form, or if you had a few bad games and someone is playing better than you – I know in my head that if you give me four or five games in a row, I'll be back. I'll take my chance. “You know that in yourself because you've got that burning desire inside of you. Give me five games and you won't get this shirt back. "That's an arrogance you have to have. The problem is he never gave me that.”

Cahill joined Chelsea in January 2012, and went on to win eight major trophies with the Blues before securing a move to south London side Crystal Palace last summer.

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