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Former Chelsea manager Ruud Gullit has opened up about his time handling one of England’s most combative midfielders.

Gullit won one major trophy in management, and Dennis Wise was the captain who went up to collect it.

After an illustrious playing career in which he won two European Cups and the Ballon d’Or, Gullit joined Chelsea as a player in 1995. A year later, after Glenn Hoddle left to take charge of England, he was appointed manager.

The Dutchman spent about 18 months in charge at Stamford Bridge and led Chelsea to the 1997 FA Cup, the club’s first major trophy in 26 years.

Wise had been part of the Chelsea squad since 1990 and was 29 when Gullit took over six years later. He had won 12 England caps, but had not been a regular in the Three Lions set-up and was not selected for Euro 96.

The midfielder had doubts about whether his new manager would be the right fit for him.

“We clashed early on because Dennis was convinced I was only interested in picking foreign players,” Gullit revealed.

“I told him directly, ‘I want you to play to your full footballing potential, not like a wild street-fighter collecting yellow and red cards all the time.’

“I invited him to my home for a proper conversation. I said, ‘If you play the way I know you can, you will play for the national team.’ He literally laughed at me!”

In October, Chelsea travelled to Leicester for a Premier League game, and Wise was substituted at half-time.

“Soon after our conversation, I took him off while he was captain against Leicester when we were 1-0 down, and we came back to win 3-1,” Gullit explained. “He was furious and did not speak to me for two weeks!

“Eventually, a mutual friend I used to play golf with told Dennis he was reading the situation wrongly and urged him to sit down and speak to me properly. He did, and the rest is history.

“Dennis Wise was an outstanding footballer when he concentrated on the technical side of his game. I gave him an ultimatum – ‘Either play the way I know you can play, or you do not play at all, captain or not.’ He decided to change, and he was magnificent for us.”