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| Roman Abramovich is agonising over the prospect of sacking Jose Mourinho |
ROMAN ABRAMOVICH is agonising over the prospect of sacking Jose Mourinho.
The Chelsea owner, normally quick to act, desperately does not want to axe the manager he brought back to the club in 2013, who has won three titles at Stamford Bridge, and is still a massive hero to the fans.
But Saturday's calamitous 3-1 defeat by Liverpool left champions Chelsea lying 15th in the Premier League with six losses from 11 games. In addition Mourinho has had a succession of damaging rows with referees and the FA.
But a source close to Chelsea's Russian billionaire owner said: "It is up to Roman. But he does not know what to do right now. All options are open for him."
Abramovich's indecision has given Mourinho a stay of execution, after many expected him to be sacked after Saturday. But the Chelsea manager has to turn results around quickly - and also heal damaging rifts in his dressing room.
The BBC yesterday quoted an unnamed Chelsea player as saying: "I'd rather lose than win for him."
It produced a furious backlash from fans on Twitter - and ex England star Alan Shearer Tweeted: "You don't win for Mourinho, you win for your club and your fans."
Mourinho has angered several players with his attempts to jolt them into form by substituting or dropping them - as he has done with skipper John Terry, midfielder Nemanja Matic, and on Saturday, last year's Footballer of the Year Eden Hazard, hauled off after 70 minutes.
Mourinho, who has insisted that his players back him, took training as normal yesterday and is expected to be in charge for Wednesday's Champions league clash with Dynamo Kiev, when a win is vital.
Next Saturday they face a tough visit to Stoke, who last week knocked them out of the Capital One Cup in a penalty shoot-out.
One good piece of news for Mourinho was that Diego Costa will escape any action from the FA after appearing to kick Liverpool defender Martin Skyrtel in the chest.
The FA said yesterday that the incident was seen by referee Mark Clattenburg and dealt with by the official. The Spaniard could have been facing a four game ban.
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| Jose Mourinho and his staff discuss the defeat to Liverpool on the Stamford Bridge pitch |
Midfielder John Obi Mikel said: "We are right behind the manager. If anyone can turn this around, he's the one.
"The goals are not coming. The wins are not coming. But you can see that we are playing for the manager.
"Last year we were champions. Jose is the most successful manager in the club's history. If anything is wrong, if anything can be fixed, he is the one. There's no one else out there.
"He shields the players. He has come out and said the players are not giving 100%, and then they come out and play better. I don't think it's the right way, for him to go. Inside that dressing room we definitely believe he is the man to change things. He deserves a chance."
Abramovich handed Mourinho a new £8.8 million a year four-year deal just before the start of the season.
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