Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is agonising over the future of manager Andre Villas-Boas. The Telegraph says Abramovich's camp is split as to whether he should be sacked as Chelsea manager now or remain in charge until the return leg of the Champions League tie against Napoli.

It is understood that Abramovich is inclined to make a change sooner rather than later but sources close to him are lobbying for a reprieve for Villas-Boas - at least for the next few weeks and possibly until the end of the season.

There is an acceptance that not all of Chelsea's problems can be blamed on the manager and that he has not enjoyed sufficient support from either the boardroom or dressing room. Set against that, however, is a growing concern that a core of players at the club is simply struggling to work with him.