Chelsea manager Graham Potter is expected to avoid getting the sack despite the Blues' miserable run of form before the World Cup after a meeting with co-owner Behdad Eghbali.
Former Brighton boss Potter replaced the sacked Thomas Tuchel in September and initially took to life at Stamford Bridge seamlessly with a nine-game unbeaten run to kick things off. However, things soured drastically before the World Cup break, with Chelsea enduring four successive defeats.
The first came at Potter's old stomping ground as Brighton ran riot and beat the Blues 4-1 at the Amex, before Chelsea were beaten 1-0 at home by big-six rivals Arsenal the week after. Carabao Cup elimination was up next with Man City putting two past Potter's men with no reply.
Chelsea's last game before all club action was put on hold came in the form of a 1-0 defeat away at St. James' Park against a Newcastle side that looked convincingly better than the Blues on the day and have done all season.
This steep decline in results has put huge pressure on Potter very early into his Chelsea reign, with the Blues now languishing eighth in the table - eight points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham.
Under the previous regime of Roman Abramovich, there is every chance Potter would already be fighting for his job just three months in, but new owner Todd Boehly seems willing to give the boss more time to settle into the role.
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It has been reported that Potter jetted out to California during the World Cup to hold talks with Eghbali where he was reassured that his long-term future at Chelsea is not in any doubt.
The Blues boss has since shed light on that same meeting, telling the media: "I’m even more confident, even more aware of the support I have now than three months ago when I took the job. It’s a credit to them and how they have communicated with me, it’s been fantastic.
"We all know the pressure and demands at this club, but we have also got enough people who can see the perspective and where we are at to be able to say, ‘This is where we are, how can we improve?'
"I’m really looking forward to the weeks, months and years ahead. We understand where we are at and the challenges."
Up next for the Blues is the visit of Bournemouth on Tuesday evening, as Potter aims to try and steer Chelsea's season back on track with a win against the Cherries as they bid for what looks like an unlikely top-four finish come the end of the season.
