One of Chelsea's favourite sons returns for a third spell at the club. The new assistant first team coach was met fresh from the pitch by chelseafc.com after his first training session back.

So Ray, the story continues.
Yes, I have gone full circle once again - but I am absolutely delighted. I have been out of football a long time. My last outing was with Dennis [Wise] a couple of years ago [at Millwall] and it is very pleasant to be back.

Had you been actively looking to get back into coaching?
Yes, for a long time, but unfortunately I have not been able to get through a door. Football now is almost like a closed shop so anyone who is out of the game is finding it nearly impossible to get back in, me included.

So I was thrilled when Peter [Kenyon] phoned me up and said can I come and meet with him. He asked if I can help Felipe out which is an absolute pleasure. It didn't take too many minutes to make the decision.

The whole process must have been pretty quick.
It was rapid. I met Peter and Felipe on Tuesday and I am here today.

Straight onto the training pitch.
Yes, straight in there and I have just been learning the different things that Felipe really wants to do. Being Brazilian that means stacks and stacks of possession play and the work ethic is there as well. These lads are such good players so it is not going to take too much to get them wound up. They really are top quality.

Is your role going to be similar to when you were a coach at Chelsea previously under Gianluca Vialli?
I was on the pitch a lot more as a coach when I was with Luca. I think I will probably be helping Felipe more with background work, preparing team talks, preparing videos, or should I say DVDs these days. So I will be preparing those on set-pieces, how the opposition play, that type of thing.

I'll deal with a little bit of media as well because it is amazing how tired you can get when you are learning a new language. I can remember that many years ago when I was in Italy, I was trying to speak the language at the club and would go home mentally exhausted. And when you are manager of a big club like Chelsea, it is hard enough getting the team in the right shape, let alone dealing with everything outside of it. So whatever he wants me to do, I will be happy to do it.

Will your past work with England Under 21s help?
Yes, I have a good knowledge of boys at Under 21 level and looking at Aston Villa, they are trying to buy them all! So my knowledge is quite extensive throughout the Premier League and with my Champions League work with Sky, my European knowledge is not too bad either. All in all, if we all put our heads together, we will do okay.

The last time you were here, you spent a lot of time talking to players one-on-one. You must be looking forward to doing similar with some of the world stars in the current squad.
That's right and there are plenty of players that don't actually play in the team at the moment and their morale can get quite low. It will be good to have a chat with them as well, see where they are coming from and keep their spirits up as much as we possibly can.

Just Carlo Cudicini and John Terry remain from when you left back in 2000, the latter just beginning to make a name for himself in the first team.
He had a work ethic, he wanted to be a player and when you've got that, you've basically got the lot. I watch John train now and he still wants to win in training as much as he wants to win on a Saturday or a Wednesday.

John will stay in the England side for a long time and he is a very good captain as well. I had no doubts that he would be the player that he is. The captain material was pretty evident as well. He was a winner and when you've got guys like that who look straight in your face and tell you like it is, you can't go far wrong.

There are players you look at who are so desperate to be a player that it is going to take a lot to stop them. I am thrilled for him over the success he has had.

How different is Chelsea now from eight years ago?
You just have to look where I am sitting now in the training ground. Harlington wasn't the best place that Chelsea have trained but we made good with what we had, that is the important thing. Now the financial side is very good and the infrastructure is top drawer.

Looking even further back to when you were Chelsea captain and players at times couldn't be paid, the training ground was up for sale and so on, could you envisage a time when the club would be at the top of the pile.
I couldn't to be perfectly honest because when you are seeing dark times at the club, you only think that it is going to go out of business or be in that state for the rest of its days.

No matter what people think of Ken Bates, he kick-started it and it has been carried forward every year by the current owner and that is delightful. When you assess the type of money everybody else has spent since the time I was playing here, all Chelsea has done is catch up. We didn't have any money to spend and had 10 homegrown players in the side and you don't often get that anywhere. Now it is just Chelsea's time.

What have you made of Chelsea this season so far?
They are playing with a freedom but have still been so solid at the back defensively, that has been so impressive. Plus there is the artistry of Deco who has been Zola-esque with some of his passing and creativity. That has been a highlight for me.

Frank has been scoring goals again and it is just as important to re-sign players you've got in your club as bring in new players. Several top players have signed a new contract which is important for the club.

Ray Wilkins joins Felipe's Scolari's coaching team that also contains assistant first team coach Flavio Teixeira (pictured left) and fitness coach Darlan Schneider. Both will be introduced on chelseafc.com over the coming days.