No idea: Andre-Villas Boas does not know if he will be
in charge of Chelsea for their FA Cup tie on Tuesday
Contact: Rafa Benitez
Rafa Benitez is on the brink of being appointed
the new Chelsea manager and could be in place for Tuesday's FA Cup
fifth-round replay against Birmingham.
Andre Villas-Boas's team slumped to another embarrassing
defeat on Saturday, losing 1-0 at West Bromwich Albion, and the
young Chelsea boss admitted he did not know if he would survive in
the job much longer.
Chelsea have already made contact with former Liverpool
manager Benitez and, asked if he thought he would still be in
charge for Tuesday's game, Villas-Boas said: 'Don't ask me, ask the
owner.'
Roman Abramovich's board had been expected to axe the
Portuguese if the team failed to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit
against Napoli in the Champions League in 10 days' time.
But the awful performance, which leaves Chelsea in fifth
place in the league and three points adrift of Champions League
qualification considered vital by the club, seems certain to bring
forward that decision.
Different approaches: West Brom manager Roy Hodgson
(right) and Chelsea's Andre Villas-Boas
Benitez wants at least an 18-month deal to take
over the reins. Chelsea, so far, have only discussed him doing
82nd-minute strike brought a potentially decisive setback. 'That is
completely acceptable.
'The pressure at present is on us to perform. We had a
good win against Bolton last week and, now, a defeat which is hard
to take because we were very, very poor today.
'We have four days to prepare for the cup-tie at
Birmingham and we have to improve 300 per cent.
'Of course, there is high expectation. Everyone expects
more from us, particularly the fans, who were excellent today and
that makes defeat all the harder to take.'
Villas-Boas has attempted to change Chelsea's tactics
radically by emulating Guardiola's Barcelona team.
On hand: Gareth McAuley prods home from close range
From bad to worse: Chelsea players react after
McAuley's winner
However, he has antagonised senior players in the
process and has eventually been forced to modify the way the team
play.
Chelsea now need to make an instant impression in their
forthcoming fixtures against Birmingham in the FA Cup, Napoli in
the Champions League and when they face Stoke, Manchester City and
Tottenham in their next three Premier League fixtures if they are
to salvage anything from their season.
