Chelsea's board will back Luiz Felipe Scolari to the end of the season - at least.

The Times says the board is desperate for the Brazilian to succeed after the previous two managers departed in the space of eight months, but concedes that it will have to review Scolari's position if his side are not challenging for honours at the end of the season.

José Mourinho and Avram Grant left Chelsea within months of their abortive attempts to capture the Premier League and Champions League, but failure to win silverware is not necessarily viewed as a sacking offence. Rather, the club's minimum expectation of their manager is that Chelsea should be in contention for the leading prizes at the end of the season, giving added significance to the Champions League first knockout round tie against Juventus, the first leg of which is on February 25.

An early exit from the one competition that Chelsea have yet to win under Roman Abramovich, the owner, could bring trouble for Scolari, who signed a two-year contract with an option for a year's extension last summer, especially if they also fall out of contention in the Barclays Premier League.

Parting company with Scolari this summer would mean that one year's work would cost them £10 million.