Chelsea have told Steve Clarke, the assistant coach, that they will try to find a place for him at the club. The Scotsman, who has served the club for almost two decades as player and coach since joining from St Mirren, has been reassured that he will be treated differently to Henk ten Cate, the Dutch assistant who was sacked last week.

Chelsea value Clarke's loyalty and are aware of his popularity with the fans after making more than 400 appearances as an uncompromising defender. The 43-year-old impressed them further by holding things together despite considerable emotional turmoil in the aftermath of José Mourinho's departure last September.

Clarke also planned and executed many of the training sessions throughout the season as Avram Grant, the first-team coach who has also left the club, took only a peripheral role in training and Ten Cate lacked the strong bond with the players that Clarke possesses.

Clarke's situation is complicated by the fact that he has managerial ambitions of his own and would leave the club if he received a suitable offer. The former Newcastle United assistant manager has told friends he believes that he could work as a No 1 in the Barclays Premier League, but in reality he would probably have to settle for a position with a Coca-Cola Championship club.

Clarke would have left if Grant had remained at the club as he failed to develop a rapport with the Israeli, but his failure to attract any job offers has forced him to reconsider. He would have to prove himself to the new manager, as he did with Mourinho four years ago, with Chelsea's search for a new man continuing yesterday. Roman Abramovich, the owner, met Peter Kenyon, the chief executive, and other key aides to discuss their leading candidates, understood to be Luiz Felipe Scolari and Mark Hughes. Roberto Mancini remains an outsider, but Frank Rijkaard and Guus Hiddink have been discounted.