The Blues owner is not famous for his patience, and defeat at West Ham has left wobbly new boss Rafa Benitez in trouble
Roman Abramovich was left furious by Chelsea’s Upton Park capitulation.
And new Blues boss Rafa Benitez is already coming under huge board pressure to turn things around quickly or pay the price for being judged a failure.
Benitez was again subjected to a bile-filled backlash from the travelling Chelsea fans as the club’s worst top flight run since 1995 saw them drop 10 points off pacesetters Manchester United.
But as West Ham boss Sam Allardyce stirred the pot by telling Benitez he has to accept the reality of his job at Stamford Bridge, the Spaniard is aware of the board unhappiness.
Abramovich was said to be “incandescent” over the second half collapse at Upton Park, with Benitez’ continuation with the 4-2-3-1 formation he inherited from Roberto Di Matteo coming under question.
Benitez, who has not been ordered to change his tactics, accepted the scale of his task in the aftermath of the miserable display at Upton Park.
He said: “When I decided to come, I knew it was a challenge. We will try to win. I am confident things will change.
“I was not expecting one thing or the other. I just came to do my job and I am sure that the team is good enough to win things..”
But the deep-seated resentment of the Blues fans – who will not forgive him his Liverpool past – have not abated.
The Blues board accept that keeping Chelsea in the Champions League when they play Danish minnows Nordsjaelland on Wednesday is out of Benitez’ control, with the holders only alive if Shakhtar Donetsk beat Juventus.
Should the tailspin continue, though, Benitez will come under huge scrutiny ahead of Saturday’s overnight flight to Japan for the FIFA World Club Cup.
And Allardyce suggested Abramovich has every right to pull the plug if he decides it has to be done.
Allardyce said: “Roman is the owner of Chelsea and he’s entitled to do whatever he wants because of the amount of money he puts behind the team.
“He’s been a great advocate for why the Premier League has become such a great brand around the world of football, by the money he’s put in.
“What he wants, you have to deal with if you’re the manager. And you have to deliver.”
Hodd forsaken
Chelsea’s run of seven league games without a win represents the club’s worst run of form since 1995, when Glenn Hoddle’s team went 10 winless matches between December 10 and February 11.
1995: Dec 10 Norwich (A) L 3-0 Dec 18 Liverpool (H) D 0-0 Dec 26 Manchester United (H) L 2-3 Dec 28 Aston Villa (A) L 3-0 Dec 31 Wimbledon (H) D 1-1. 1996 Jan 14 Sheffield Wednesday (H) D 1-1 Jan 21 Ipswich (A) D 2-2 Jan 25 Nottingham Forest (H) L 0-2 Feb 4 Coventry (A) D 2-2 Feb 11 Tottenham (H) D 1-1
Team v Spurs on Feb 11, 1996: Kharine, Clarke, Sinclair, Lee, Minto, Rocastle, Newton, Wise, Peacock, Spencer, Stein.
