Claudio Ranieri yesterday indicated that he has resigned himself to his fate of departing Chelsea this summer.
Speculation has been rife since the arrival of Roman Abramovich last July that Ranieri's tenure at Stamford Bridge would soon come to an end. For the first time since then the Italian's allusions to being a "dead man walking" have become more definite statements.
When asked if the open secret that he is heading for dismissal at Chelsea disturbed him, Ranieri replied: "It won't increase the pressure. Maybe there is a little bit less. From July 3 that was the start of the pressure. Now we are two weeks from the end - pressure finished. It is not so difficult for me.
"I'm very involved in the last weeks and then I will look at what happened. I will not be surprised if my career here at Chelsea is finished."
Ranieri's position at Chelsea effectively became untenable when the club's chief executive Peter Kenyon was pictured entertaining Sven-Goran Eriksson at his west London apartment. When he reiterated his commitment to England, Eriksson's name was replaced by that of the Porto coach Jose Mourinho and a host of others who have since been mooted for the job.
Chelsea's board appear ready to deliver the world's best players to Ranieri's successor. The latest to be linked with the Stamford Bridge club is Roma's Argentina defender Walter Samuel.
Roma's director of sport Franco Baldini yesterday confirmed Chelsea's interest in Samuel. "We have been in contact with the English club and they have requested information on the player, but they have made no official offer yet."
El-Hadji Diouf's future at Anfield appears increasingly insecure after Liverpool's manager Gérard Houllier revealed his growing frustration at the inconsistency of some of his squad.
Last Saturday's victory over Manchester United was notable both for the match-winning return of Danny Murphy and the absence from the squad of Diouf, and while Houllier refused to comment specifically on the Senegal forward he remarked that the best cure for a poor attitude was a spell out of the team.
"If a player is not 150% committed to the job they have then they must suffer the consequences," Houllier said.
"Sometimes a player can forget what the job is all about and they can allow their concentration to waver. Then you leave them out and that's the best punishment because I've never met a player who doesn't want to play."
