Claudio Ranieri's fate may be sealed but that does not mean he has given up the fight. When the Italian suggested yesterday that he has taken strength from the talk about his future, he was not only sending a defiant message to his employers but reminding Chelsea's players what he expects of them tonight.
Ranieri has made it clear to his squad that there can be "no excuses" at home to Arsenal despite the unspoken confirmation from Stamford Bridge that he will be out of a job at the end of the season regardless of the outcome. It is hardly normal for a coach to have to gather his players before a Champions League quarter-final to tell them to focus on the game but then Chelsea long ago stopped being a normal club.
Through all the turbulence, Ranieri's spirit remains unbroken. He was his usual smiling, engaging self after training yesterday. Briefly he became agitated by questions about whether he had told his squad he would be leaving this summer - "I don't want to speak about this, I want to speak about the match" - but he gave the impression he has revelled in the constant and ultimately fruitless battle to impress the club's hierarchy.
"I'm like my boys," he said, seated between John Terry and Marcel Desailly. "I'm a gladiator. I like this. Why not? Face to face. I have some English spirit, don't worry."
He will demand the same from his players this evening. Terry again stated his backing for Ranieri and insisted all the players felt the same but the coach does not want emotion to colour the performance in the season's biggest match.
"They're my blood, my strength," Ranieri said. "Their support is fantastic but I said: 'It's not Claudio Ranieri that's important, it's Chelsea that's important.' I'm focused on Chelsea and I said to them it's important to be focused on the match. There are no excuses. I want them to put their mind on the pitch."
If Ranieri is entitled to feel aggrieved that his future has already been decided, he will hardly be shocked. The Italian realised the moment Roman Abramovich walked into Stamford Bridge last summer that no amount of success this season could guarantee him another year in the job.
"Since the beginning I put in my mind that even if I win everything I can go home," he said. "Not now, from the first of July." He was shocked by suggestions that some at Chelsea would prefer the team to lose this tie because it would make it easier to sack him. "Unbelievable," he said. "I hope not. I haven't even thought about it."
Asked whether he would be very surprised to find himself still in charge of Chelsea next season, he replied: "No, no." He knows better than to publicly confirm his fate, just as he is too sensible to resign with a huge pay-off waiting. He laughed at the suggestion that he might have considered quitting. "I'm not stupid," he said, "I'm not crazy. I like to fight."
He has experience of dealing with uncertainty. "Somebody wrote that I'm a dead man walking," he said. "I want to see only tomorrow. Day by day, step by step, that's my philosophy. Not just now but always, in every country."
The pressure is effectively off against Arsenal, the favourites. Ranieri confirmed that Marco Ambrosio will continue in goal in the absence of the injured Carlo Cudicini. If Hernan Crespo fails to recover from a muscle strain Chelsea will have only two available strikers in Adrian Mutu and Eidur Gudjohnsen because Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is injured.
"Until a year ago I watched the Champions League on television and sometimes I went to Highbury," Ranieri said. "I went by Tube, among the Arsenal fans. It was good but now it is better. Now I can hear the sound of the [Champions League] music on the pitch."
Comparisons between Chelsea's often grinding performances and Arsenal's flair have helped to undermine Ranieri's position at Chelsea. "Chelsea, it's true, sometimes haven't played well with style," he said. "But [only] sometimes. Were you in Rome [for the 4-0 win at Lazio]? When I had all my players we played not badly. But sometimes there are periods when it's important to get points. Last season we had a lot of draws. This season maybe we have changed this: 1-0, 2-1. That's important. The galácticos didn't win all the matches 5-0. They also lose."
How the Tinkerman's season could pan out
What if_
1 Chelsea are easily knocked out of the Champions League by Arsenal and fall away in the Premiership to finish third, 15 points behind winners Arsenal. Joe Cole is sold to Liverpool for a small profit.
2 Chelsea reach the semi-finals of the Champions League and lose to Real Madrid on away goals. They finish second in the Premiership, six points ahead of third-placed Manchester United. David Beckham tells Spanish newspapers that the only reason he would leave Madrid is to "play under a manager like Claudio Ranieri and I know Raul and Zidane feel the same".
3 Chelsea are beaten finalists in the Champions League, losing on penalties to Milan after a thrilling 5-5 draw. In an all-night poker game with Arsène Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson Ranieri wins Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy with a bluff and later announces that he has invented a type of sticky tape that finds its own end for you when you whistle.
4 Chelsea win the Champions League, beating Milan in the final. Ranieri persuades Florentino Pérez to swap Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and announces that he has discovered a way to make Britain energy self-sufficient by harnessing the power of childhood dreams.
5 Chelsea overhaul Arsenal to take the title and clinch the Champions League with a 7-0 victory over Milan. Ranieri buys Francesco Totti for £7.50 on eBay, persuades Rev Ian Paisley to admit that "maybe the Pope isn't that bad after all" and forces Ant and Dec to enter a Trappist monastery.
6 Chelsea win the Champions League and the Premiership. Ranieri finds the Beagle space probe, discovers life on Mars and leads his side to victory over a Red Planet Select XI. The game is broadcast around the globe uniting mankind in a spirit of earthly brotherhood. Armies lay down their weapons, enemies embrace, poverty, hunger and inequality are abolished and the UN announces a new era of peace and harmony will be named in honour of the man who inspired it: The Age of The Tinkerman.
Harry Pearson
