

Not even a bad start to the quest for a quick bounce-back to the top flight could derail the season and with confidence throughout the squad steadily restored, a 27-game league unbeaten run saw off all challengers. The goals began to flow once more for centre-forward Dixon and the Second Division championship was won with 17 points more than the second-placed side and Chelsea have remained in the top division ever since.

'Bobby was great,' said Dixon as he later reflected on the 1988/89 season. 'He didn't panic when the team went down and he was given the opportunity to rebuild and he brought in solid, experienced players to add to what we had, and he managed very well. He built a solid team.'

So poor were the training ground facilities at the time that Campbell resorted to a local hotel for his office space and use of a telephone, but he was able to guide the team to a very impressive return to the big time.

He was unusually flexible in his tactics in an era when English football was seemingly wed to a standard 4-4-2. He found ways to accommodate three goalscorers in Dixon, Durie and Kevin Wilson and made the most of impressive attacking full-backs Clarke and Dorigo.

In the 1989/90 season, Campbell played three men at the back including a sweeper and in the November, a win at Everton placed Chelsea at the top of the league table for the first time in a generation.

A run of defeats before Christmas were a reality check and tested resolve but there was now strength of character in this Chelsea side and Everton, once again, and Millwall were defeated at the climax of the campaign to secure a top-five finish.

The season also had a Wembley appearance to enjoy.

For the second time in five seasons we won the Full Members Cup with Middlesbrough defeated in the final in front of 76,000 fans, thanks to a fine Dorigo free-kick.

Campbell had already set the tone for the many continental signings to come under future managers by bringing in defenders Ken Monkou from Feyenoord and Erland Johnsen from Bayern Munich, but in the summer of 1990 he turned to the English league to make Chelsea’s first two £1 million-plus signings – Dennis Wise and Andy Townsend, who would both go on to captain the team.

Though the promotion team of 1988/89 had been full of experience, youth was now blooded with the likes of Frank Sinclair, David Lee and Graeme Le Saux emerging. Following a run of poor results, three junior homegrowns were successfully handed starts in a live televised win at Old Trafford in November 1990. They were Jason Cundy, Graham Stuart and Damien Matthew.

An undoubted highlight of Campbell’s third full season as Chelsea manager was a League Cup quarter-final replay away against a Tottenham team that had Gazza in his pomp. Spurs were played off the White Hart Lane pitch by the Blues that night as we recorded a 3-0 win.

Following an 11th-place finish in the league, Campbell relinquished the reins with his former assistant Ian Porterfield returning to take on the manager’s role. Campbell initially accepted a backroom role with Bates before returning to more active coaching in the Middle East.

In the later years of his retirement he made his home just a short walk from Stamford Bridge. He was welcomed back into the fold with open arms by Mr Abramovich and was a regular around the club and would enjoy reminiscing about his days in charge. He was also a frequent guest of the owner and Chelsea directors at home matches.