Although the popular Ranieri will not win the Premier League, the Stamford Bridge club are in their first-ever Champions League semi-final and have a real chance of success.

However, that may not be enough to stop billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, who took over the club last summer, bringing in a new manager of his own choice.

“It could be the case that I lose my job at the end of the season,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“When the ownership of a club changes, the owner has the right to change the coach.

“Abramovich wanted to change last July but he didn’t find what he was looking for.

“It gives me great pleasure to receive so much affection (from the fans) but the logic of football is different. Del Bosque was sacked from Madrid despite winning the league but not the Champions League.

“I try to explain to the English people that having coached in Italy these situations are elementary.”

Ranieri has been criticised for his rotation policy, most recently after the 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa on Monday, but with the vast amount of player resources at his disposal he defended the tactic.

“I decided that in order to create a group, to construct a team, the method was the systematic turnover,” he added.

“I have been criticised for some time because I reinforced the team so much but look at the results. I now have a nearly complete team with Juan Sebastian Veron and Carlo Cudicini close to making their comeback and the rest of players are all fresh.

“I explained to the new players that arrived that they would play 30 games instead of 60 and I convinced the veterans that the same applied to them.

“No-one likes to be on the bench but it was the only way to achieve fusion and the collective spirit.”