Under-Fire Jose Mourinho Faces Judgment Day

Jose Mourinho admits Chelsea have no margin for error as the pressure mounts on the beleaguered Blues boss ahead of Wednesday’s (Thursday in Manila) crucial Champions League clash against Dynamo Kiev.
.
Mourinho faces one of the most significant moments
in his long and illustrious career when Kiev visits
Stamford Bridge for a match he cannot afford to lose.
.
The 52-year-old is hanging onto his job by a slender
thread after a turbulent season took another turn for
the worse with a 3-1 home defeat against Liverpool
on Saturday.
.
That lackluster loss left Chelsea languishing in 15th
place in the English top-flight, with their six defeats
from 11 games the worst start by defending
champions in the Premier League era.
.
Chelsea’s malaise hasn’t been restricted to domestic
competitions and their Champions League campaign
is also in the balance after just one win from their
three Group G matches leaves them in third place
behind Kiev and leaders Porto.
.
Another setback against the Ukrainian champions
would put Chelsea in severe danger of crashing out
before the knockout stages and further increase the
belief that Mourinho will be axed in the coming days.
.
Acknowledging the significance of the occasion,
Mourinho, who received further bad news on Monday when he was handed a one-game stadium
ban for this weekend’s trip to Stoke, said: “It’s a big game. It’s a game that we cannot lose.
.
“We still can finish first, second or third and
obviously we want to finish in the top two.”
.
Blues owner Roman Abramovich is said to remain sympathetic to Mourinho’s problems, but the Russian billionaire has rarely been able to stop himself from wielding the axe when managers have failed to deliver in the past.
.
Mourinho’s chances of surviving are hardly helped by repeated reports of a dressing room mutiny by players unhappy with his stern man-management
style.