Chelsea owner Abramovich issues verdict on Mourinho’s fate

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has issued his verdict on the raging debate over the future of beleaguered club manager Jose Mourinho.

According to Telegraph.co.uk, Abramovich has given Mourinho a final chance to redeem himself and improve the club’s dwindling fortunes.

Chelsea lost 3-1 against Liverpool on Saturday, marking their sixth defeat this season leaving Mourinho at the brink.

The only salvation for Mourinho could be the dilemma of who will replace him with Chelsea’s key target Pep Guardiola currently tied at Bayern Munich.

Despite Abramovich’s support, pressure is mounting on Jose Mourinho to ensure Chelsea qualify for Champions League, which currently seems an uphill task.

Securing Champions League slot

Chelsea are currently at position 15 with 11 points, ten points off the top four position and a further slip may prove detrimental for the defending champions.

Though it is not definite what number of matches Mourinho has been given to save his job, reports indicate that a turnaround is expected as soon as the next Champions League match against Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday and Stoke City in the English Premier League clash on Saturday.

The Blues are currently placed third in Group G with four points, behind FC Porto and Dynamo Kiev who have seven and four points respectively.

Already a number of managers have been linked with Chelsea job including Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simone, Carlo Ancelotti and Guardiola.

The new development comes a day after Chelsea Manager Jose Mourinho gave what has been termed as the most bizarre post-match interview in the history of English Premier League (EPL) after losing 3-1 to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The embattled manager chose to ignore the questions asked by BT Sport’s Des Kelly instead sticking with “I have nothing to say” statement.

The interview seemed to have disappointed most of Chelsea fans and Premier League supporters alike most of who were left wondering why Mourinho attended the interview in the first place.

According to football analysts, Mourinho may have chosen to merely make an appearance to avoid fines that are often imposed on managers who snub post-match interviews.

In 2011, former Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson faced a £65,000 fine for snubbing interviews with team-broadcast partner of the Premier League BBC.

Mourinho declined to say on Friday whether he had been given any guarantees about his future if the champions lose at home to Liverpool this weekend.

Media reports have speculated that the Portuguese could be dismissed by club owner Roman Abramovich for the second time if Chelsea suffered a sixth defeat in the opening 11 Premier League games, but that was not to be.

The Portuguese troubles have extended beyond the pitch as he faces a £50,000 ($76,680.00) fine and suspended stadium ban for comments about the referee after losing to Southampton earlier this month.