Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will back manager Andre Villas-Boas to the hilt in 2012. The Sun says Abramovich made it clear that he is sticking with his young Portuguese boss despite the team's disappointing results.
Blues fans were shocked when AVB chucked in the Premier League towel on Boxing Day following the 1-1 draw with Fulham.
And a number of senior stars have had their noses put out of joint by the manager's team selections.
But Red Rom has given Villas-Boas, 34, the all-clear to launch a major dressing-room shake-up in the summer.
Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou are all set to follow Nicolas Anelka and Alex out of the club.
It is a dramatic change of policy by Abramovich, who backed the players when they complained about former bosses Luiz Felipe Scolari, Claudio Ranieri and Avram Grant.
But now the multi-billionaire Russian is convinced Chelsea's ageing squad is in need of a complete overhaul.