Roman Abramovich Prepared to Sack Antonio Conte if Chelsea Fall Out of Top 4 Race

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is apparently ready to ditch manager Antonio Conte if the Blues look like they are going to get pushed outside of the top four places in the Premier League.

The London side have been struggling for form recently, losing back-to-back games in the Premier League over the last week to Bournemouth and Watford. They currently are fourth in the league table, but are just one point above Tottenham, who are fifth.

But despite Chelsea's troubles, Conte's position was still reportedly safe and he was in no imminent danger of being sacked by the club.

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However, a new report has emerged claiming that Conte's job at Chelsea is under risk. According to the Sun, the Blues owner Roman Abramovich will sack Conte if the team fall outside of the Champions League qualification places and their participation for next season's competition looks to be in threat.

Conte still has 18 months remaining on his current contract at Chelsea and he spoke recently about his desire to see them out. Speaking to the BBC, the 48-year-old said: "From the start of the season there have been a lot of speculation and rumours around me. 

"The only thing I can tell you now is I still have 18 months of contract with Chelsea. My intention, my will, is to respect the contract. We signed a three-year contract. I think our desire is to continue our work.

"This season, the situation has always been the same, with a lot of pressure, and I don't understand why, always around me. Maybe it is because this is Chelsea. This is the only answer I'm having. But the pressure is normal. When the situation is too calm, you risk being relaxed and losing the anger, the fire. I like to live with this pressure."