Frank Arnesen, whose new position as sporting director at Chelsea was announced this weekend, has been explaining his duties.

Arnesen is to continue working at the junior level of the club but is also taking on responsibilities relating to the co-ordination of first team activity and support for the first team manager.

It is a job similar to one he has carried about before, as he discusses below:

Tell us what sporting director means here at Chelsea.
First of all I am delighted to do this. My role will be a little bit more senior. We have Carlo Ancelotti in which I think is fantastic. He is a coach with a lot of experience and has already won a lot as a player and as a coach so it is fantastic to get him in.

We want to give him the support needed which is why I am jumping from the Academy and I am now next to him so the support, his staff, himself will try to make the best out of it.

The other thing is the transfer side of it. Peter Kenyon is the chief executive and I will report to him as usual and we have always worked together on transfers and more now it will be with senior players and I am looking forward to that as well and I am sure we will do a good job.

Once upon a time this wasn't a common role in English football, they do it more on the continent. Do you think it is something we are going to see more and more of?
I don't know. I have done it myself for 10 years with PSV Eindhoven and on the continent it is more normal than not. In England we have not seen although I did do it at Spurs at one time, but actually there are not a lot of clubs who are doing this.

But if you see how big nowadays the clubs are, there are so many things that you have to arrange yourself, not only the managers but also the clubs, in marketing, in sponsorship, the stadiums, you have to get a lot of money in, you have to try to do the best you can do to get a club like Chelsea running. You need specialists around the place and I have done it more than 10 years so it is not new for me.

So how will you help the transition for Carlo? How will your day-to-day role function?
I have changed my office so I am next to him so I am speaking to him all the time because I think I know English football quite well and I know the club very well so it is very important he gets the feeling he is supported.

I think it is about knowledge of football as well, not only on the pitch but outside the pitch as well. It is very important I have a close relationship which we are already building now and I can support him in all departments.