Jose Mourinho has six days to keep his place in the Chelsea dugout, according to reports.
After overseeing the Blues’ sixth league defeat of the season, twice as many as Chelsea suffered in the entirety of last season, rumour was rife that Mourinho was on the brink of his second Stamford Bridge departure.
While no news arrived this weekend of a Mourinho sacking, ESPN report that club sources have indicated to them that owner Roman Abramovich is giving Mourinho two games to keep his job.
Chelsea host Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday before travelling to the Britannia at the weekend to take on a Stoke side who dumped them out of the Capital One Cup just a few days ago.
And if the supposed Special One fails to impress in those two fixtures, he could find himself on the unemployment line.
ESPN also report that former Blues manager Carlo Ancelotti is considering taking over from Mourinho on a temporary basis should he be sacked.
The timing, if Mourinho be removed from his post after next Saturday’s Stoke game, would allow Ancelotti a fortnight of settling-in time as the international break takes place after the next round of Premier League fixtures.