Chelsea’s faith in Jose Mourinho is eroding and he could even leave before the crucial Champions League clash with Porto, according to the Daily Telegraph’s Jason Burt.
The defending Premier League champions hit a new low on Saturday Night Football as they were shocked 1-0 at home by newly-promoted Bournemouth.
The loss leaves them 14 points off fourth place and they could be eliminated from the Champions League if they fail to beat Porto on Wednesday.
“Do they give him the Porto game or do they make a change now? That’s the ongoing debate at Chelsea,” Burt told the Sunday Supplement.
“The fact [Roman] Abramovich was at the game last night counts against Mourinho because the key now is the Champions League match which they can’t afford to lose. As the owner watching the game against Bournemouth you think can we guarantee they won’t lose to Porto? I don’t think they can.
“Either they do have faith in him, which is I think is eroding all the time, or they are not sure what to do in terms of a replacement. I think they are considering a number of candidates.”
Mourinho’s position has come under increasing scrutiny after a surprisingly poor start to the season.
And Burt thinks it would be a “complete change of culture” if results do not improve and Mourinho still remains at the club.
“Every other manager who has been in that situation has lost their job,” he added. “Maybe they think he is the Special One and we do stick with him and write off the season and go again next year.
“Maybe they are going to do that, I still sense he will probably not be there for much longer.
“He has tried everything, but nothing is drastically improving. Things have got better but not enough, there is going to reach a stage where they are not going to reach the top four.”
The Blues have won just four matches in the league and Sunday Express chief football correspondent John Richardson thinks Mourinho is “hanging on”.
“He has never been in this situation before and it would be nice to see how he can get out of it,” said Richardson. “He has left clubs after two or three seasons, can he rebuild this side?
“I want to see how he reacts and how he gets out of it. This is new territory for him so let’s see it, but time is running out. Not qualifying for the Champions League would be a disaster for Abramovich.”
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