Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has been under a great deal of pressure this season
Mark Schwarzer thinks a place in the top four could be enough for the Italian to save his job.
The Blues moved into third place on Monday night after their 2-0 win over West Ham and are now two and three points clear of Tottenham and Arsenal respectively.
Sarri's side reached the final of the Carabao Cup and are still in contention to win the Europa League but the former goalkeeper believes that the club's league performance might be enough.
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Schwarzer told Love Sport Radio: "If Chelsea do finish top four, I think that will give Sarri another season. There's no reason why it wouldn't. But as we know, Chelsea are used to winning silverware. They don't go too long without winning anything.
"If they were not to win anything again, then all of a sudden it's two seasons in a row and all of a sudden it's two seasons in a row and people are not particularly happy with it because they are used to winning trophies every season. That is the pressure. Everyone knows that the minute you go into Chelsea as a manager you are expected to win almost from day one.
"But somewhere along the line the mould has to break. You're not always guaranteed success and sometimes you've got to look at it a bit longer term, particularly when you want to change a style of player as drastically as Maurizio Sarri has wanted to do."
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Sarri-ball has been a point of contention between Chelsea supporters and their boss. At times it has been breathtaking, at others it has been completely nullified by the likes of Tottenham and Manchester City. The ex-Australia international believes Sarri should be judged at the end of the season.
Schwarzer said: "Considering it's his first season in the competition, it's always tough. He's got a very distinct way he wants his team to play. He's very rigid in that regard and he's obviously sticking to his guns. the Chelsea supporters are in generally not particularly happy with the way he's playing. But Maurizio Sarri is adamant that it's what he is going to stick to.
"There's a whole load of challenges that have cropped up over the season for him but now the fact that the fans are on his back as well just adds to the pressure. You'll judge at the end of the season.
"If Chelsea finish in the top four, that's the bare minimum they need to achieve."
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