Claudio Ranieri has admitted he feared for his job from the moment Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea.
Ranieri began preparing himself in his own mind back in July for the possibility of the sack at the end of this season - knowing that even if he won the Champions League, the Premiership, the FA Cup and the Carling Cup it still might not be enough to save his job as manager of Chelsea.
On the eve of Chelsea's biggest game under Ranieri, the talk is not about the Champions League quarter-final first-leg tie against Arsenal, but instead about the future of the manager.
Amid increased speculation over his future, there have been reports that Ranieri gathered together his players yesterday to tell them he knows he will be sacked in the summer.
Ranieri refused to comment on that story, but did reveal how he felt the writing might have been on the wall - no matter what he achieved this season - from the moment last July when he heard that Russian billionaire Abramovich had taken control at Stamford Bridge.
"Since the beginning I put in my mind that, even if I win everything, I may go home," said Ranieri. "Somebody wrote a little while ago that I was a dead man walking, so I want to see only tomorrow. I go day by day, step by step, that is my philosophy.
"Remember, I am an Italian manager. In Italy you can win one match, draw the second and lose the third and you go home. The pressure on me is not important, I am used to it.
"The rumours aren't new for me. There have been rumours from the beginning of July and I continue in my job. A manager in my position must follow one aim and not hear anything else, he must just continue to work and at the end he will be in or out."
Ranieri has received unwavering support from his players and the majority of the Blues fans but not, it would seem, the people running the club. But he believes he has adopted the English fighting spirit and is enjoying having to work with his back against the wall.
"I am an emotional man and it is important to feel the support I am getting from my players and the fans - it is a big vitamin," said Ranieri. "I don't need support from elsewhere, I just want to continue to work.
"My players are my blood, my strength, that is important. Their support is fantastic. But I said to them 'Claudio Ranieri is not important. Chelsea is important'. I am focused on Chelsea and they must be focused on Chelsea - that is the more important thing.
"I am building but you have to build very quickly. The foundations, the first floor, fifth floor, garden and roof - everything at once."
Then, when asked if he had considered quitting at any point, he laughed and with mixture of bemusement and defiance he said: "I'm not stupid, I'm not crazy. I am like my boys, I am a gladiator, I like this. Why not? I like to fight face to face. I have got some English spirit."
One criticism aimed at Ranieri has been that his team does not win with a flourish, the way perhaps Arsenal do. He agreed, but pointed to his team's 4-0 win over Lazio in Rome as an example of how good they can be when everyone is at his disposal. "Even the 'galacticos' don't win every game 5-0," he said.
