Slaven Bilic has revealed a trip to watch Chelsea train has been postponed due to the speculation surrounding Jose Mourinho.
Croatia's national team coach was keen to pick the brains of the Chelsea staff, having previously visited Premiership rivals Arsenal.
But the recent rumours concerning Mourinho's situation at Stamford Bridge prompted the Blues boss to cancel the visit.
Bilic understands Mourinho's decision, but hopes to rearrange his trip at a later date as he is a fan of the Premiership champions' defensive structure.
"I went a few years ago to Marcello Lippi when he was the manager of Juventus," Bilic told Sky Sports News.
"I went to see Arsene Wenger in Arsenal and I wanted to now go and see Chelsea in training because I admire the way the defence is so organised.
"I wanted to come here with my staff to see 10 days of training or whatever.
"But because of the speculation at the club, and about the situation in Chelsea, he apologised and said 'next time', which I respect of course."